Fall for the Foe
by Jewelzy
Summary: After Rumple had cast her out, Belle had returned to her father. To celebrate her return, Maurice organizes a big celebration where she dances with a one-handed stranger who tells her to leave the castle before the clock strikes twelve. Pirates attack Avonlea's castle, and Belle finds herself prisoner onboard the Jolly Roger. Captain Beauty.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

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**Had this on my mind for quite a long time now. Another Captain Beauty, hope you like the idea!**

**Enjoy! :)**

**J**

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Killian Jones, better known and feared as the infamous pirate Captain Hook, was standing slightly away from the dance floor, watching the royal couples dance. Smee had been right, many royals from far and wide had travelled to the small kingdom of Avonlea, apparently only to eager to follow King Maurice's invitation.

The pirate smirked to himself. It was an invitation that not only had attracted the leaders from other kingdoms, but that also had gained the interest of adventure-starved and gold-hungry pirates.

Smee had informed him not long ago about this particular event – his first mate that was hardly made of the yarn a real pirate would be woven, but who had proven himself rather helpful from time to time.

Just like in this case.

His crew had grown hungry over the past years – hungry for gold, for adventures, for women.

Hungry for a pirate's life – something a realm such as Neverland hadn't been able to provide thoroughly.

So King Maurice's great event seemed to be just in time.

And so fitting, Hook acknowledged with a cruel smile on his lips, as Avonlea seemed to celebrate the return of their beloved princess. It seemed rather appropriate that he and his crew would join this kind of celebrating, as they, too, had only returned few weeks ago from Neverland.

Hook continued to watch the royals laugh and dance, and a hint of content excitement was starting to spread through his entire body.

Those fools, he thought. Carelessly showing off their most precious jewelry, desperately trying to impress other royals with their dull life and haughty affectedness. Apparently not thinking for a second that an occasion like that would be the perfect opportunity for a pirate attack.

His crew was waiting outside the castle, waiting for his signal to attack. Hook had wanted to check the safety measurements first, unwilling to believe that a king would leave an event like that barely protected.

But King Maurice appeared to be a greater fool than Hook had ever believed a royal to be. It had been a child's play to get into the castle undetected – even without invitation. And as for the guards, well they rather seemed to be too eager to celebrate as well than to protect the castle.

The pirate shook his head slowly.

Well, the king would learn his lesson later that evening, so much was certain.

The captain had already sent message to his first mate, informing him to start the attack when the clock stroke 12.

Midnight – which meant only half an hour left.

Hook was just about to leave the ball in order to join his crew outside and to bark one or two orders at them, when his eyes suddenly fell on a young woman standing across the ball room.

A breathtaking beauty with long, dark curls and pale flesh, dressed in a long, golden gown and with a cut low enough to offer a generous glimpse at her rather tempting cleavage. A tall, young man was standing next to her, talking heatedly to her. But she didn't seem to be too interested in what the young noble man had to say. She didn't even look at him. Her eyes were firmly glued to the ground and she clearly didn't appear to be too pleased by the man's presence.

Hook smiled to himself.

He was at a ball after all, and hadn't danced even once. And pirate or not – but his heart always longed for saving a damsel in distress – especially a damsel as beautiful as the young stranger.

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"We need to talk about this." Gaston hissed, his voice sounding heavy with a great amount of jealousy.

Belle let out another, exasperated sigh.

"Not now, Gaston." she whispered. "I'm not in the right mood for a conversation like that."

Her fiancé let out a contemptuous snort.

"You never are." he growled. "Look at you, Belle. We've both escaped from the monster's captivity and you don't even seem to be happy about it!"

"He's not a monster." she retorted quietly, and lifted her eyes to look at her fiancé with sad eyes.

Gaston just stared at her, the skin beneath his right eye twitching slightly. Belle could see how his pale face started to turn red from suppressed anger, as he flashed his eyes darkly at the young beauty.

"He turned me into a rose and held you captive!" he hissed, his voice quivering a little.

"But he turned you back into a human-being and released me from the deal I've made with him." Belle said as calmly as possible – inwardly hoping that Gaston would just leave the topic. She had no intention to longer think or talk about Rumpelstiltskin – let alone with Gaston.

From the look on his face, Belle knew that he was fuming inside.

He bent down and grabbed her arm forcefully.

"I saw you two." he hissed into her ear, making her shudder in response. "I know about your kiss, I know that you have fallen for that beast, Belle."

Belle let out a sharp, pained gasp, but the grip around her arm only tightened.

She turned her head, her eyes wide open, and her heart stopped beating for a second when she saw the hurt and anger that greeted her through Gaston's dark gaze.

"Let me go" she whispered and tried to free her arm from her fiancés grip, but without success.

In response, Gaston just pulled her even closer, his enraged face only inches before hers.

"This will end." he growled dangerously. "You will stop thinking about this monster and will become my wife in body and soul. Do you understand?"

Belle just stared at him and the fear was gripping her heart tighter than the brute's hand around her arm. She was just about to retort something, anything, when an unfamiliar male voice came to her rescue.

"I suggest you let the young lady go." the stranger said with a determination in his voice that made Gaston loosen his violent grasp around the beauty's arm at least to some extent.

Both, the beauty and the noble-man stared at the unfamiliar face with a hint of confusion in their expressions.

"I don't take orders from strangers." Gaston challenged with a dark voice, and straightened his body, making himself even taller than he already was. "This is something between my fiancée and me."

But the young stranger seemed pretty unimpressed as he just smiled at the noble-man, his stunningly blue eyes firmly fixed on the other man.

He then let out a low chuckle that sent waves of shivers down Belle's spine and shook his head slightly.

"Ah, you see… " he said in a clearly amused voice and moved closer until he was standing right in front of Gaston. "… a stranger I might be, and yet, I feel obliged to rescue a beauty such as your companion from a brute such as you."

Gaston finally let go of Belle's arm and turned his full attention towards the other man.

"She doesn't need saving." he growled in return, his eyes sparkling vividly with pure fury.

"I beg to differ." the stranger retorted and moved his left arm.

Suddenly, Gaston jumped slightly and his expression turned from fury to surprised fright. The grin across the stranger's face broadened as he looked knowingly at Gaston, leaning in even closer

"Get the lady something to drink, will you?" the young man suggested with a sweet voice, his eyes still holding the taller man's gaze.

Gaston hesitated for a moment, but nodded eventually. He shot one last evil glare at Belle and the young man, before he finally stepped away from them, leaving the stranger and a visibly confused Belle standing alone.

It was only then that Belle saw what exactly made Gaston so quickly take a flight. Her eyes widened when she saw the hook that was apparently replacing the stranger's left hand.

"Don't worry about that, love." The stranger addressed the beauty as he had followed her gaze. "Quite a useful weapon indeed, but never had it been more useful than in this very moment."

Belle finally tore her eyes away from the rather strange hand-substitute and met the man's amused gaze.

A slight blush illuminated her pale cheeks as she looked into those bright blue eyes that were staring back at her.

"Thank you" she whispered in a strained voice and offered the man in front of her a shy smile.

The man stared at her for some moments longer, before his lips curled up into a genuine smile. He extended both arms and bowed his head slightly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"It was a pleasure." he almost purred, and the blush that was lingering on Belle's cheeks only increased.

He then offered her his good hand.

"Care to grant your rescuer at least one dance, Mylady?" he asked, the seductive smile on his face capturing her only a second longer than Belle would have wanted to.

But she eventually returned his smile and took his hand, nodding.

"It would be a pleasure." she said, flashing one of her most charming smiles at the stranger in front of her.

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Gods she was beautiful. From the distance, he had not been able to see her startling blue eyes that had made even a skilled womanizer such as Hook lose his mind for the heartbeat of a second. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her beautiful face as they started to move to the sound of the music. His hooked arm was firmly encircled around her small waist, his hand holding hers, and they were dancing more closely than a formal event such a royal ball might have seen fit. But it didn't matter. Hook clearly intended to enjoy this moment with the unknown beauty, and according to her body language, she didn't really seem to mind.

"So are you enjoying yourself?" he finally asked after some moments of silence, a mischievous smirk curved into his features.

Despite his expectations, the beauty let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

"Not really." she admitted with a shy smile.

Hook raised his brows in surprise.

"You don't?"

Once again, the beauty just shook her head.

"I'm just doing my father a favor." she further explained with a low voice. "He wanted me to be here."

Hook cocked his head and searched the young woman's face for some moments. He noticed the hint of sadness that was darting of her face, and he was internally wondering why a young royal such as her wouldn't enjoy an event like this.

"So you're not happy that the princess is back?" he teased lightly, remembering the original purpose of the king's celebrating.

The young woman lifted her head in surprise and eyed him with a clearly confused expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked with furrowed brows.

Hook let out a low chuckle and shrugged his shoulders as he spun her back into his strong arms.

"I was just wondering…" he laughed. "The event's purpose is to celebrate the return of Avonlea's princess, isn't it?"

The young woman stared at him, but gave him a short, silent nod as response.

"Well, and given the fact that you are not too happy to be here…" he explained. "… I was assuming that you are not too happy about her return."

The confusion in the beauty's eyes vanished and she gave him a strange smile, Hook wasn't quite able to place.

"I'm not." she agreed, and now it was Hook's turn to look a little puzzled.

"You don't like her?" he asked with raised brows.

The young beauty let out a cheerful giggle and shook her head.

"Oh no…" she disagreed at once. "I think she's really nice."

She let out a heavy sigh before she continued.

"I guess I'm just not in the mood of celebrating."

Hook gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded. They continued to float gracefully across the dance floor when the pirate noticed the angry look the beauty's fiancé was shooting at him from across the ball room.

"And I guess that has also something to do with that charming fiancé of yours?" he wondered out loud, as he returned the brute's glare with a triumphant smile.

"Gaston is not really helping the situation." the petite brunette sighed, and the pirate felt the slight shiver that was floating through her body.

His blood started to boil when his thoughts went back to the tall brute that had dared to treat the beauty like that. He made a mental note to ask Hawk, one of his most skilled and certainly most deadly crew members, to deal with that particular problem during their attack.

"Don't worry about that one, love." he assured her with a mischievous smile on his face. "I'm pretty sure that he won't touch that delicate skin of yours once again."

The beauty narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked warily, but earned just a low chuckle from Hook.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I were able to predict the future?"

The young woman let out a melodic giggle that went straight to Hook's heart and shook her head.

"I highly doubt that." she retorted with a smirk.

Hook just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Oh believe me, dear" he said with a meaningful look. "some things are indeed quite predictable."

All too soon, the song ended and Hook bowed his head. It was nearly midnight. The attack was just about to start. Rather quickly, the pirate led her back to a small entrance aside the dance floor.

He then bent down and placed a gentle kiss on the beauty's soft hand.

"It was a pleasure, mylady." he purred as he looked the woman deep into her sparkling eyes.

A sad smile appeared on the beauty's face, and Hook wondered if she was really that sad that their ways already had to part. But before he could follow this thought any longer, she bobbed a curtsey in a polite manner and said: "Indeed it was, good Sir."

Without another word, she turned to leave, when a thought crossed the pirate's mind.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and whirled her around, back into his arms.

Visibly shocked, the beauty stared at him with those big blue eyes he was already sure would become the material of many dreams for him to come.

"What are you doing?" she gasped as he held her tightly against his own form. He noticed as people began to stare at them, shocked muttering starting to reach his ear. But it didn't matter. Not now. He was a pirate, but a small part of him was still a gentleman. And that part demanded of him to give her a warning. He didn't want that beauty to get hurt during the attack.

"I'm saving you for the second time in one night, mylady." he whispered, his lips softly caressing the shell of her ear.

He heard the woman's sharp intake of breath, his sudden closeness and his lips against her ear obviously highly inappropriate when dealing with a lady like her.

"I must go now, but I want you to leave the castle immediately."

"Leave the castle?" she repeated and shook her head vehemently.

"Do as I say." he growled impatiently, his arm still firmly tightened around her delicate body. "We don't want a lovely lass such as you get hurt, now, do we?"

She started to wiggle free from his grasp, finally getting over her temporal paralysation.

Reluctantly, he let her go, even though he wouldn't have minded being close to the beauty only some moments longer.

When he met her blue gaze, her eyes were narrowed and her expression full of suspicion.

"Who are you?" she said in a hoarse voice, her eyes sparkling with a hint of darkness that caused a tingling sensation run through his body.

Before he could stop himself, the pirate grabbed the back of her neck with his good hand and pulled her into a harsh kiss that evoke a surprised, squeaking sound from the young woman.

When their lips parted, the beauty looked at him with wide open, shocked eyes that bore a hint of anger within them.

"A friend." he whispered with a seductive sound in his voice.

Before Belle was able to retort anything, Hook turned on his heels and vanished into the crowd of people, leaving the beauty at the small entrance that was supposed to be her escape from the attack.

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Belle was standing in her chambers, fanatically searching for the dagger she had hidden in one of her cupboards. All had happened so fast. When the clock had stricken 12, the ballroom had suddenly been filled with a deafening sound of bawling and screams, making her heart freeze in her chest.

"We're under attack!" one of the castle's soldiers had screamed, and "Pirates!" another.

And then, the room had been filled with tattooed, threatening looking men with swords and cruel smiles across their scarred features. Her father had screamed at her to leave, and she had followed his order immediately – but not to flee, but rather to get her something to fight, to defend herself. She had made her way through the masses of screaming royals and fighting soldiers and pirates, desperate to get as quickly as possible to her chambers.

Now she was kneeling in front of her cupboard, throwing her dresses and books carelessly to the floor.

Searching.

A hint of relief washed over her as her hands touched the cool metal of her dagger.

And not a moment too soon.

Suddenly, the double door to her private room was forcefully kicked open, and in the blink of a second, Belle stood face to face with two pirates.

One of them was muscular and very tall, even taller than Gaston, and his body was cluttered with scars and tattoos. The other, however, was pretty small, maybe only one head taller than Belle.

"Lookie lookie what I've found!" the taller one announced with a rough voice, as his lecherous eyes fell on Belle.

"You stay away from me!" Belle screamed with a shaking voice, as she pointed the dagger with trembling hands at the two intruders.

The taller let out a roaring laughter and moved closer.

"Oh little bird, look at you!" he purred in a tone that made Belle's stomach turn. "What a fine little thing you are!"

"Leave her, Smith." the other pirate ordered with an exhausted sigh. "The captain told us explicitly only to take the castle's treasures."

The taller rolled his eyes and moved further closer towards Belle.

"Oh I intend to!" he promised darkly.

Belle's hands were shaking from fright, her will to survive the only reason why she was still able to stand on both feet.

"It would be a shame to leave such a beauty behind!" he chuckled and reached out to touch Belle's cheek, but she backed away just in time, the dagger still shakily in her hands.

"Don't you dare and touch me!" she hissed, her blue eyes sparkling dangerously at the tall pirate.

"Oh!" the pirate exclaimed tauntingly. "The cat has claws! I like that!"

"Smith!" the other man sighed. "We don't have time for this!"

The tall pirate briefly turned around, ready to give his companion a piece of his filthy mind, when Belle made her move.

She had to try.

She jumped forward, exploiting the pirate's state of inattention, and waved her dagger right into his face.

"BITCH!" The pirate screamed out in pain and pure rage as the cool metal made contact with his skin.

Belle started to run, trying desperately to make her way through the door. She was pretty sure that the smaller pirate wouldn't hold her back. She had nearly reached the door, when two big paws clasped around her ankles, making her crash down to the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" she heard the dark voice growl angrily, but a sharp pain in her head was it making almost impossible for her perceive more of her surroundings.

"Hook is calling!" she heard one of the pirates say. "She's the princess, bloody hell! Let her just be, Smith!"

"Princess you say?" the other said with a dark chuckle and Belle felt how a rough finger touched her cheek. "Oh then I think I know exactly what treasure to take from this castle!"

Belle was about to scream, to fight, to do anything to prevent this horrible situation.

But she was losing her desperate fight against the impending darkness.

And after some more moments of muffled cries and growls, her whole world went dark.

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Hook was standing at the wheel of his ship, watching as his crew carried the chests full of gold and diamonds onboard the _Jolly Roger_. A satisfied smile was toying around his lips as he remembered the quite successful night. It had been a child's play to break through the barriers, his crew eager and starved to finally live the pirate's life once again.

But the fighting had not been as bloody as suspected – the guards and soldiers not really prepared and above all half-drunken to represent a serious threat to his plans. After a rather quick fight, King Maurice had been quite ready to compromise. The chubby leader begged Hook to take what they wanted, if he and his crew just let his daughter and his guests unharmed. The captain had agreed to those conditions, he himself not a man of shedding too much innocent blood just in the process of looting. During the fighting, Hook had also looked out for the beauty he had danced and kissed only minutes ago. But he hadn't seen her, and a strange feeling of both relief and regret had washed through his body. Unconsciously, he traced his lips with one finger, smiling at the memory of her sparkling blue eyes when he had crashed his lips onto hers. But it was better that way. The girl seemed to have followed his orders and had made her way out of the castle just in time.

And the crew was content as well – the captain could feel their excitement floating through the chilly night air.

He barked some more orders at his crew members, ready to set sail and leave the port as soon as possible. He heard the roaring laughter of his men, all filled with pure satisfaction and pride.

All changed, however, when the lights of Avonlea slowly started to melt with the heavy night sky. Hook was still standing at his wheel, staring up to the glistering stars that would help him navigate their way to the next destination. The buzzing sound of voices started to fill his ear, his crew apparently fighting over something.

"Captain!" he heard Smee call out for him.

Hook let out an angry growl and looked at the man's direction. His first mate was standing in front of him, his eyes wide open and a great amount of concern written across his face.

"We have a problem!" he gasped and pointed his hand nervously towards the ship's deck where the voices were coming from.

Hook rolled his eyes.

"Bloody hell." he muttered angrily. "Can't this herd of bloody bastards simply stop the fighting for at least one bloody moment?!"

"It's Smith!" Smee babbled, clearly out of breath.

"Of course he is!" Hook growled, knowing full well that trouble was usually connected to the hulk of a pirate.

When he reached the ship's deck, a group of pirates was already shouting and threatening each other, all gathered around something Hook was not able to look at properly.

"What is this bloody shouting about?!" he roared, and the crew went silent in an instance.

The captain fixed his gaze darkly at Smith.

"Mr. Smith" he addressed the tall pirate. "Is there a problem?"

Hook noticed as the pirate tensed in response, his eyes briefly flickering towards the place the other pirates were cloaking from the captain's view.

"What are you hiding from me?!" Hook demanded to know when he didn't receive a response, and slowly, the group of pirates moved.

The captain's eyes widened.

"He's taken the princess, Captain!" Woodsworth, a rather small, but witty pirate explained heatedly. "I told him not to, but he did nonetheless!"

"She's my price!" Smith roared in response. "A pirate takes what he wants! And I wanted her!"

Hook barely heard a word of what they were saying. His heart almost stopped when his gaze fell on the unconscious woman who was lying right in front of him on the ship's deck.

A beauty with chestnut curls and pale skin that was shimmering silvery due to the soft streams of moonlight, clothed in a long, golden gown.


	2. Captain's Order

_**Chapter 2**_

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His eyes were glued to the fragile woman lying in front of him, a beauty amongst darkness and dirt, a golden vision onboard of a pirate's ship. His mind was running miles in milliseconds and was completely blank at the very same moment.

"You have no right to keep her all to yourself!" he heard one of the pirates shout at Smith.

"You bloody idiot!" another shouted. "You've abducted the princess! The Captain told us not to make prisoner, right Captain?"

This startled Hook from his moment of paralysation, and the previous confusion turned to anger.

"SILENCE!" he ordered with a strong voice, and the crew's excited and angry mutter stopped immediately.

He ran his good hand through his two-day-old beard, his eyes never leaving the beauty on the floor.

"Mr. Juba" he addressed a tall, Afro-American member of his crew without looking at the man. "Would you please bring our guest to my quarters?"

When nobody made the appearance to move, Hook finally was able to tear his eyes away from the beauty on the floor, shifting his gaze to stare darkly at the aforenamed crew member.

"NOW!" he shouted impatiently, the fury vibrating heavy in his voice.

Juba's eyes flickered briefly towards Smith, but eventually gave the Captain an obeying nod and moved towards the young woman on the floor, ready to follow the Captain's order.

But before the tall Afro-American was able to reach her, Smith drew his sword and moved his body possessively in front of his treasure.

"No you won't!" he growled, flashing his eyes darkly at the other man. "She's mine!"

Juba stopped in motion, staring with wide eyes at the threatening pirate. No crew member in his right senses would dare to cross blades willingly with Smith – except for Hawk maybe, but the pirate didn't fight unless it was absolutely necessary.

But the image of Smith obviously opposing to the Captain's order brought another to the arena: Hook himself. In one swift movement, he drew his blade as well and stood right in front of his crewman.

"I beg to differ, Smith." he growled through clenched teeth, his blue eyes slightly narrowed as his dark gaze was firmly fixed on the other man's face. "You really need learn to listen, Mr. Smith. One might get the impression you are just about to refuse to obey my orders."

The crewman's chest was heaving rapidly from the internal struggle between fury and obedience.

"You told us to take the castle's treasures." Smith retorted with a low voice, but Hook noticed with a certain satisfaction, that the other pirate's strong hand was trembling a little.

Smith knew as well as the others did that he was not able to measure up to the Captain. Hook was nearly perfect at leading the blade, his style of fighting an experienced and learned art of sword-fight, and his deadly hook an additional weapon to look out for. The Captain was maybe not as tall or strong as some of his crew members, but he was quick and skilled, witty and certainly deadly to the same extent. Nobody had ever dared to question his authority on ship – not now, not ever.

An evil look appeared on Hook's face as he continued to face down his opponent.

"I wasn't talking about human-beings, Mr. Smith!" he growled in a dangerously low voice and moved a little bit closer. The tall pirate swallowed hard, Hook practically sensing the internal struggle between the desire to defend his loot, and not wanting to fight the Captain.

"Now would you mind letting your sword down?" Hook suggested with a small smirk on his face, the pride that his mere threats were able to control his crew lifting his spirits immensely.

Smith hesitated for a moment, but lowered his sword after some moments of tensed silence, signaling that he more or less accepted his defeat.

A triumphant smile curved into Hook's features as he watched his crewman's reluctant reaction.

"Wise choice, Mr. Smith." he praised tauntingly, and noticed how the other man narrowed his eyes in response. He was without a doubt still fuming inside, but Hook didn't care. Some of his crewmembers were just like children: stubborn and rebellious – especially when someone dared to take their most favorite plaything from them. But Hook knew how to handle that, knew how to stop thoughts of mutiny early enough and how to treat those who dared to disobey the Captain's order.

His attention moved back to the beauty who was still lying on the cold floor. Without another thought at the surrounding pirates, he knelt down beside her and moved some of her brown curls from her face. She was still unconscious, but her breath came soft and steady. With one of his ringed fingers, he softly caressed the soft skin of her face, noticing how cold she actually was.

With one swift movement, he took her up bridal style. The petite brunette in his arms was cold as ice, and a small wave of concern washed through the pirate's veins.

"You just want her for yourself!" he heard Smith accuse sulkily, and Hook had to muster all of his self-discipline not to slice the disobedient fool's throat at once.

Instead, he turned with the beauty in his arms and glared at the tall pirate in front of him.

"She's not much of worth if she freezes to death, Mr. Smith!" he snarled, his glistering eyes locked with Smith's. "And I won't let her die on deck of _my _ship only because of your inability to think one bloody step further!"

"Oh I could think of one way or another to keep her warm." the tall one retorted boldly with a hint of mischief mingling in the darkness of his eyes.

There was a long beat of silence stretching over the ship's deck, the rest of the crew watching the exchange with bated breath.

Hook's lips finally formed into a cheerless, small smile and he shook his head slightly.

"Mr. Smith…" he replied in a restrained voice that was covering the growing fury that was starting to cloud his mind. He slowly took some steps towards the other pirate, his grip tightening possessively and at the same time protectively around the young woman's small form.

"Let me make something absolutely clear now." he continued calmly. "If you ever dare to lay so much as a finger on our guest, be assured that I will use your guts to wipe your blood from the soaked planks of my ship."

The tall pirate took in a sharp stream of breath, his entire body shaking from tension.

"Do you understand?" the Captain growled, careful to color each word with a dangerous tone in his dark voice.

Smith glared at his captain for some more moments of tensed silence, his broad, haired chest heaving rapidly and his nostrils flaring from suppressed anger.

"Aye" he finally pressed out through clenched teeth, but his gleaming eyes gave away what he was really thinking about the order.

Hook made a contemptuous tsk-sound and shook his head.

"Didn't you forget something, Mr. Smith?" he chided.

If even possible, the darkness and hatred on Smith's face increased even more.

"Aye, _Captain_." he finally spat and earned an approving nod from Hook.

"And the same applies to all of you!" he ordered and turned his attention back to the rest of the crew. "Until I've decided how to make the best of the situation for all of us, no one is allowed to come near her, let alone speak to her!"

Consenting muttering reached his ear and he nodded with a content grin on his face. He had no idea how to solve this particular problem right now, a princess onboard of a pirate's ship was definitely not an easy thing to handle. But the only thing that mattered at the moment was that he had his crew under control and that they wouldn't come near the beauty in his arms. At least for now.

The captain sent some meaningful, dark looks at some of his crewmembers, before he turned on his heels and made his way to the Captain's Quarters, the unconscious beauty in his arms firmly pressed against his warm chest.

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A sharp, throbbing pain in her head was the first thing Belle noticed when she slowly began to become conscious again. She was apparently lying on something warm and soft, and the smell of sea air and leather was hanging in the air. She tried to move, tried to think of the last thing she was able to remember, but the pain in her head made it almost impossible.

The images before her mind's eye were blurry and hazy. She remembered the ball her father had organized to celebrate her return, she remembered the dancing, the laughing. She remembered Gaston who had threatened her and who had been much closer than she had wanted him to be. She remembered her dark-haired rescuer who had danced and then had kissed her.

And then, her memories went blank, Belle unable to tell what had happened next.

She fought the throbbing pain that was clouding her mind and began to slowly open her eyes. She was lying in a comfortable large bed in the middle of a spacious room she didn't recognize. Fear was starting to warp her heart when her mind noticed that she was not in her chambers in her father's castle, and not even in one of the rooms that belonged to the Dark Castle. She closed her eyes again, the pain almost overwhelming her senses once more.

Belle hurriedly tried to sit up on the bed. But the attempt was soon prevented by a strong arm on her shoulder that made her softly but determinedly lie back.

"Easy, love." a voice next to the bed announced with a soft chuckle. "That's quite a bump you have there. Better not to move too quickly."

The stranger's voice and touch had quite an effect on her, the fear in her mind and heart increasing even more. She forced herself to fight the pain in her head and to open her eyes again. She moved her head to look at the direction where the voice had come from, only to stare into a pair of startling blue eyes that were strangely familiar.

"A pleasure to see you again, beautiful." the dark-haired man said in a smooth voice. He was crouched down beside her, offering her a toothy grin.

"You!" Belle gasped, and suddenly the pain in her head was completely forgotten.

In a split of a second, she scooted back to the opposite bedpost. She pressed her body firmly against the wooden wall, intending to make as much space as possible between her and the familiar stranger and dragging the sheet along. Images of the previous night started to form before her mind's eye. Not only images of the stranger who had danced and kissed her, but also his request for her to leave the castle as soon as possible was ringing loudly in her head. She remembered the pirate attack, her desperate search for the dagger in her cupboard, and the sudden presence of two pirates in her chambers. A slight shudder ran down her spine when the taller one's lecherous, dark look appeared before her mind's eye – a look that held no secret about what he had wanted to do to her.

Her eyes fell on the golden gown that had been neatly placed over a chair nearby, and a shocked gasped escaped her lips as she noticed that she was wearing nothing but her thin chemise. Out of instinct she tightened the bed's sheet more tightly around her body, obviously her only protection shield that would protect her form a man's touch and gaze.

The stranger watched her reaction with an amused smirk on his face, making her fright slightly turn to anger.

"Ah, so I made an impression after all." he pointed out with a low chuckle.

Belle didn't reply. She just stared at him with narrowed eyes, her body firmly wrapped into the long white sheet.

"Ah, no need to worry, love." he assured her with a charming smile on his lips as he stood up from the ground to take a seat on the comfortable bed. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Belle's entire body tensed and she pressed herself further against the wall behind her.

"Stay away from me, pirate!" she hissed, trying to cover the fright in her heart as good as possible with bravery.

But her words didn't seem to make an impression on him. Quite the contrary actually, as her words seemed to amuse the stranger even further.

He let out a low chuckle and shook his head slightly. The dark-haired man suddenly grabbed the sheet that was wrapped around her body with the tip of his hook, and before she could grasp what was happening, he had rolled her body beneath his own.

A satisfied smirk appeared on his face as she stared up at him with wide open eyes, her body firmly trapped between the mattress and the man.

"I'm rather curious about how you would fight me, love." he purred, his face merely inches above her own.

"Are you going to finish what you've already started?" she hissed through clenched teeth and with narrowed eyes.

After some moments of silence, the smile across his face broadened and he shook his head.

"You are quite a brave one, aren't you?" he admitted, a hint of admiration resonating in his voice.

He then lifted his weight from her body and moved away from the bed, leaving Belle finally some space to breathe.

She slowly sat up again, watching as the man crossed the room to trace one finger along her fine, golden gown that was still draped over the chair.

"Fear not, love." he assured as he turned his head to look back at her. "The undressing was simply a necessity to save your life once again. I didn't want you to get ill."

Belle let out a contemptuous snort.

"To save my life?" she repeated scornfully. "Like when you abducted me in the first place?"

For the slightest of moments, the confident smile across the pirate's face vanished and was replaced by a thoughtful look.

"I admit the situation is quite unfortunate, indeed. Please believe me when I tell you that abducting you had never been my intention. Let's call it a …" he whirled his hook through the air as if to catch the correct word. "… _misunderstanding _between my crew and me."

"But forgive me…" he continued when Belle didn't reply. "I believe we haven't been properly introduced, princess."

He spread his arms widely and bowed his head.

"Killian Jones." he introduced himself with a seductive smile on his face. "Or as others know me: Captain Hook, glorious and infamous captain of the Jolly Roger."

Belle didn't reply. She just stared at him with narrowed eyes, trying to keep the anger within her heart at bay.

"Well, for all I know, princess… convention requests that you introduce yourself now." he chided playfully.

"Why should I?" she challenged boldly. "Apparently you already knew who I was right from the beginning!"

"To be honest, love…" Hook replied with a long sigh. "… I thought you to be a beautiful stranger I wouldn't be able to see for quite some time."

Belle cocked her head, trying to detect the lie within his words.

"That was until Smith, this dick-driven bloody son of a tadpole chose to take Avonlea's most precious treasure without my knowledge."

Belle's body tensed at the thought of the tall pirate which didn't go unnoticed by the ship's captain.

"Don't fret, love." he said with a reassuring, genuine smile on his face. "I made sure my crew won't dare to even think of touching you again."

The beauty on his bed furrowed her brows in confusion and watched as he poured some red wine into two silvery goblets.

He then walked towards her, offering her one of them.

"You are under my protection now." he said while offering her one of his charming smiles Belle knew had certainly worked with so many previous women.

She slowly stood up and took the goblet reluctantly into her hands, earning an approving nod from the ship's captain.

"Thank you." she said with a low voice and took a sip of wine. The captain watched her drink, his eyes firmly glued on her lips.

"Then you will bring me back home?" she asked warily, trying to get his attention away from her lips.

The captain stared at her for a moment, before he let out a clearly amused laugh.

"Not so fast, I'm afraid."

Belle's eyes widened and her lips parted in shocked disbelief.

"But you said you hadn't meant to…"

"Abduct you?" the pirate continued her sentence with a mischievous smirk. "Aye, that had indeed not been my original purpose."

"But using me as a pawn won't benefit you." she concluded immediately, desperately trying to talk herself out of this situation with reason and common sense. "You've just attacked Avonlea – my father hasn't any treasures left to buy my freedom."

But despite her hopes, the grin on Hook's face didn't even falter a little. Instead, he slowly placed his goblet on the table nearby and traced the goblet's rim with one of his ringed fingers.

"What's your name princess?" he suddenly asked with a smirk on his face, following the movement of his finger with his eyes.

Belle furrowed her brows.

"Belle." she replied with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Ah…" he said almost softly. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes scanning her body with a strange gleam in his eyes. "Never had a name been more fitting I suppose."

Belle just stood there, holding the wine-filled goblet firmly in her hands and awaiting the captain's next move.

"My dear Belle…" he finally continued with a purr in his voice that sent waves of shivers through her entire body and moved closer towards where she was standing. "I've seen the chests of gold and diamonds my crew took from you precious kingdom. And I'm pretty sure that there's not much more left for your father to spare to pay for your freedom."

He was now standing right in front of her, his body only inches away from touching hers.

"Then what do you want from me?" she whispered utterly confused as she stared up into his dazzling blue eyes.

The pirate smiled at her and lifted his good hand to twine one of her locks gently around his finger.

"Well you see…" he said, a seductive smile toying around his lips as he stared at the piece of hair around his finger. "I have quite enjoyed your company at the ball."

He moved his head down until his lips were hovering only inches before hers, his blue eyes meeting her gaze. Belle found it harder and harder to breathe, the gleam in his eyes capturing her senses for a paralyzing moment.

"And I intend to keep you for a little longer, princess." he breathed against her lips.

"No!" she gasped and before the pirate was able to do or say anything else, Belle threw the wine in her glass right into his face and pushed him forcefully away from her.

Hook was seemingly surprised by her reaction, and he stumbled a few feet backwards. He crashed against the table and sent some of the books and maps on it down to the floor. In the meantime, Belle ran as quickly as she could towards the door, trying to escape the captain and his chambers as soon as possible.

But the heavy oaken door was locked and no matter how vehemently Belle pulled the knob, her way to escape wouldn't open.

A low chuckle from behind reached her ears and she felt how the captain's sharp hook slid into the fabric of her chemise and she was hauled back into the pirate's arms.

"Tsk-tsk." he chided playfully as he held her small body against his own. "Is this a way how to treat your rescuer?"

Belle fought with all of the strength that her body was able to muster, but it was futile.

"Let me go, pirate!" she hissed with narrowed eyes as she glared at the captain who was holding her way too close to his own body.

But Hook just let out another low chuckle and shook his head slightly.

"Ah, what a brave little thing you are." he laughed, but there was no taunting in his voice, only a hint of approving realization. He was staring down straight into her blue eyes, and for the slightest of seconds, Belle was rather certain that he was going to kiss her again.

But the kiss never came.

"I'm already quite excited to learn more about you." he said in a low voice, and Belle could have sworn that she had heard a hint of genuine interest beneath his layers of seduction.

With these words, he let her suddenly go. Without his tight embrace as support, the young beauty stumbled backwards and bounced back onto the bed.

The captain flashed another mischievous smirk at the princess, but before Belle was able to get her brain to work again, he moved towards the door, opened it within a split of a second and walked out.

"HOOK!" Belle called out and jumped up from the bed.

But as soon as she had reached the door, it had already been locked again – leaving a fuming and shouting princess all alone in the Captain's Quarters.


	3. Invitation for Dinner

_**Chapter 3**_

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She didn't know how long she had been waiting in the cabin she had awoken in for the captain to return. First, Belle had pounded noisily against the oaken door, screaming for Hook to return – but the pirate didn't come back. She shouted and yelled as she gave free rein to her rages until her voice turned hoarse and her fists hurt from pounding them against the heavy door – but she then finally had to realize that Hook wouldn't simply bend to her will. He apparently had her exactly where he wanted her and things would only change the moment _he _wanted them to change. Until then, Belle was prisoner once again – a pirate's prisoner at that.

The realization brought tears of anger and frustration to her eyes, and Belle threw herself onto the bed, crying bitterly into the soft white sheets. She cried because she was angry with Hook for leaving her here, she cried because she was angry with her father and herself for both not having been more careful during the ball and the pirate's attack. And she cried because she pitied herself for being once again a mere pawn in a chess game she had apparently no influence on. But exactly that piece of thought made Belle suddenly stop her bitter sobs. Scenes might shift, actors might change – and yet, she was still the same. No one would decide her fate but her – not her father, not Rumpelstiltskin, not Gaston and most definitely not a smug, sorry prince-charming version of a pirate. No matter how handsome he was – and that he was, as much Belle had to admit. But she dispelled the thought as quickly as it had occurred, shaking her head vehemently. If Hook had thought that he had captured a poor and helpless princess, he would soon find out that Belle wouldn't answer his expectation.

Belle dried the salty tears on her face determinedly with the back of her hand and stood up from the bed, looking around. Her blue eyes roamed the spacious room she was kept imprisoned, which was – without a doubt – Hook's cabin.

The captain's quarters.

It truly looked like she had imagined it from one of her books she had read about pirates. The wooden walls were painted of a dark red color, and a large, squared window at the other end of the room offered a magnificent view of the glistering blue sea and shiny horizon outside. A heavy table with several maps, books and a golden compass lying on top of it was standing not far away from it, and Belle slowly moved closer.

The young princess took one of those books into her hand and flipped through the somewhat yellowed pages – partly out of instinct as she loved books, and partly because she was hoping to learn more about the man who had locked her up in his private cabin. Her brows furrowed as she browsed. It was a book full of stories about dragons, griffins, mermaids and hippocamps – in short: a list of all kinds of mythical and legendary creatures on earth, the seas or above, as well as the magic they held within.

Belle slowly shook her head. Whatever she had expected to find in this book, she had never thought Hook to be a fan of magical and legendary creatures.

She placed the book back onto the table and took another. This time, it was one about plants and hydrophytes called "**A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**"

A golden feather was placed between two pages, bookmarking one specific chapter.

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"**Venomous Shadow-Rose**" Belle read.

**The Venomous Shadow-Rose is a red, spiky, toothsome plant with mobile vines that try to grab living prey. Venomous Shadow-Rose expels venom from its shoots, and its spikes are deadly. Its bite is highly poisonous and can prove fatal. Does a magical being come in contact with the plant's poison, it will lose its power temporarily or forever– depending on the level of magic the being possesses. The plants juices can be used for the creation of several potions, and drinking it is always lethal. During the first Ogre War of the South, it was used as a deadly weapon to defeat the ancient magical ogre armies. Since then, the plant is extremely rare and almost impossible to be found. **

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A slight shiver ran down Belle's spine as she snapped the book shut. She had read much about magical herbs and plants in general, but never had she heard about a plant as dangerous and as deadly as this one. She shook her head slowly and bit her lower lip. The question was: why did Hook have an interest in a weapon such as that.

The rattling sound from the door made her jump and she quickly placed the book back onto the wooden desk, her eyes firmly fixed on the door. For the slightest of seconds, she inwardly debated to give into her first instinct and use the open door to run – but on second thought: where should she go to? She knew from the look out of the large window that the ship was already on the high sea – and even if she managed to overpower Hook – which was more than unlikely to happen – she would still have to deal with the herd of pirates who would probably been waiting for her on deck. And Belle was not stupid enough to think that she would have even the slightest chance to escape.

So instead of making a desperate run for freedom, the young princess stayed in place, holding her chin high and awaiting to hear what Hook had in store for her.

But when the door opened, it wasn't the captain who entered. She took in a sharp stream of air when two men came in. One was short and stocky, wearing a red wool cap that covered almost his entire head, the other huge and muscular with a fresh scar on his cheek.

Belle's eyes widened in shock and she took one step away from them as she recognized the taller one. It was the man she had encountered in her chambers at her father's castle – the one who had tried to do unspeakable things to her, who had brought her here. Smith, as Hook had called him earlier.

He was staring at her with dark eyes that reflected a mixture of both desire and hatred, and for the slightest of seconds, Belle wondered where the glimpse of hatred had come from.

"Now now." he addressed her with his growling voice as the other locked the door behind them. "Isn't it a pleasure to see you again, little bird?"

Belle swallowed hard and pressed lips firmly together, her eyes roaming the room desperately for something sharp to defend herself.

Smith was just about to move closer, the strange gleam in his eyes and the lecherous smile never faltering, when the other suddenly made him stop.

"That's close enough, Smith." The other said shakily, and Belle's heart froze as she realized from the tone in his trembling voice that the pirate with the red cap would be most definitely no help if Smith tried to attack her. "Remember what the Captain said."

A dark look appeared on the pirate's face and the smile vanished, but despite Belle's fears, he immediately halted – even though the beauty simply knew that he was actually inwardly debating whether or not to simply continue his advances.

The other pirate was now standing right next to Smith, giving Belle a reassuring smile.

"There's no need to be afraid of us, Miss Belle." he tried to soothe. "As long as you are under the captain's protection, no one will dare to lay a finger on you."

Belle noticed the heated, dark flash that quickly appeared behind Smith's eyes, and could see the tensing of his arm muscles, but he didn't say anything.

The short pirate turned towards him and gave him pointed look.

"Isn't that right, Smith?" he asked with raised brows like a teacher who scolded his students, and Belle wondered what exactly gave the pirate with the red cap the sudden confidence to talk to the taller one like that.

It was either bravery or infinite stupidity.

"Aye." Smith all but growled through clenched teeth, his burning eyes never leaving hers.

"Wonderful." the other man cheered, and gave Belle a broad smile.

Stupidity, Belle thought. Infinite stupidity.

Contrary to the short pirate, Belle knew that there was nothing genuine behind Smith's affirmation – but whatever it was that held him in place, she was rather confident that it would last as long as they were in this room.

She therefore took in a deep breath and raised her chin defiantly, trying to muster as much self-esteem as possible.

"Does Hook send you?" Belle asked as she looked between the two pirates in front of her.

"Aye." Smith answered with a dangerously low voice that sent another wave of shivers through Belle's entire body. "You'll be dining with the Captain."

He then lifted his arm and held up a revealing dress of a dark blue color Belle hadn't noticed before.

"And he requests you wear this." the shorter pirate added before Smith could, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

Belle eyed the dress in Smith's hand with wide open eyes. It was beautiful – no doubt about that. It was of a rich blue color and probably floor-length, but it was still more revealing than anything she had ever owned before as it was a neck holder top with a pretty low neckline and bare back. There was no way she would ever wear something inappropriate such as that.

"Well…" Belle answered as soon as she was able to overcome her initial state of shook and raised her blue eyes to stare at the two pirates with a determined shimmer in her eyes and voice. "You may tell the Captain that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request."

"That means no." Belle clarified after some more moments and crossed her arms before her chest sulkily.

There was a long beat of silence stretching between them before Smith let out a low, dark chuckle that caught Belle off-guard.

"I was hoping you'd say that little bird." he sneered, and Belle's confidence faltered as she stared into his dark eyes.

"You see…" he continued and started slowly to approach her. "Hook said that you'd say that. And he also said, if that be the case, you'll be dining with the crew."

He was now standing right in front of her, the scandalous dress still in his huge hands, smiling down at her.

"And you'll be naked." he almost purred and showed a row of rotten and golden teeth that made Belle's stomach churn.

A shocked gasp escaped Belle's lips as she heard that, and within the split of a second she made her choice.

She quickly wrenched the dress from the pirate's grasp and glared daggers at him, trying to show Smith exactly how much she hated him.

A look of disappointed fury appeared on the pirate's face as he returned her gaze.

"Fine." he growled, and Belle's confidence faltered once again as she realized just how close the brute was standing.

But before the look of insecurity and fear could reach her face, the other pirate came to her rescue.

"The captain will be more than pleased, Miss Belle." he chuckled, seemingly not noticing the atmosphere of danger and threat that was hanging in the air.

"Come on, Smith." He then addressed the other pirate. "There's much more work for you to do on deck."

Smith narrowed his eyes at the princess in front of him, his lips twitching slightly upwards as he addressed her one last time that day.

"He cannot always protect you, princess." he whispered so that only Belle was able to hear him. "I pirate keeps what he's stolen."

And with those words, he followed the other pirate out of the cabin, leaving a shaky Belle back behind.

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* * *

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Hook was sitting at the large table of the ship's dining room, his ringed fingers tapping impatiently on the wooden surface.

Waiting.

Mr. Juba had already lit several candles so that the room was filled with enough light that Hook would be able to appreciate the sight he was planning to enjoy throughout the evening.

The ship's captain watched as Smee repeatedly entered with several plates filled with steaming pork and fish, with delicious fruits and vegetables from far off lands, placing them in front of the captain on the table.

"Where is she?" Hook finally growled as he shifted his dark gaze away from the steaming food in front of him to look at his first mate.

Smee polished one of the plates with the fabric of his shirt and shrugged his shoulders at Hook.

"She'll be here soon." He assured. "I'm sure she's still making herself look pretty, captain. Vanity is a woman's favorite sin, they say."

Hook stroked his beard with his good hand and shook his head.

"So they say." he reluctantly agreed.

He stood up and walked towards the large window, looking outside, and trying to suppress the urge to storm out of the room to fetch the girl himself. The pirate didn't know why he was so incredibly impatient that evening. After all, this princess was not the first one who would accompany him to dinner. And honestly, why should she even dare to refuse his invitation. No woman ever had.

Oh he knew how his looks and charm worked with women. They were wax in his hands if he wanted them to – and even if he hadn't meant to charm them.

This princess would be no exception.

He had to admit that the young beauty had crossed his mind more than once since they had shared the dance during her father's ball, and even more often since Smith had brought her on deck of Hook's ship. Oh he knew exactly what got Smith to simply take the princess with him – even if it had meant to disobey the captain's order. She was a beauty beyond compare, with wavy brown hair as soft as silk and curves that seemed to be merely made for a man's pleasure.

And those eyes… Hook had to suppress the deep groan that was threatening to escape his throat as his mind flashed back to those blue diamonds that had been sparkling back at him. Since he had first seen them barely 24 hours ago, they had been filled with joy, with suspicion, with fright and with stubborn defiance – and the captain hadn't decided yet which emotion he liked best.

The smile on his face broadened. He was fairly certain that the best look was yet to come.

Sure, he had ordered his crew not to touch the beauty, mainly because this horde of pirates was neither skilled nor considerate enough to treat a lady of her class right – let alone were they worthy enough.

The captain, however, saw himself as a different kind of man. He knew how to treat women, how to make them fall for him. He offered them anything their heart desired – expect for love of course.

There was only one woman who had a firm hold on his heart. And the love he had felt in his heart had died with her and was now drowned in the depth of the Northern Ocean.

Just like Milah.

No, love was not what he was looking for.

But that didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy a woman's company.

And this woman, this princess, intrigued him.

He was a pirate after all, and he was only too eager to get to know her in every way he might see fit.

The door opened with a creaking sound and Hook turned around to look at the entrance.

A mischievous smirk formed on his lips as he spotted the beauty in the door.

A dark look was covering her beautiful features as she glared back at the pirate, but Hook didn't mind. He knew that the dress was more revealing than anything else the princess had ever possessed before, but he couldn't deny the hint of pleased admiration that was forming in his mind and heart as he noticed with how much dignity and grandeur the princess was wearing it.

"Princess." Hook finally greeted and moved elegantly to stand right in front of her. "I'm pleased that you could make it."

He gave her a mischievous wink as he took her hand and placed a polite kiss on it.

"And what a lovely choice of wardrobe." he added with a smirk as his eyes followed the low neckline that showed off more of the creamy skin that he had ever had the pleasure to see of her before. "Truly a fetching sight, indeed."

The beauty's shiny blue eyes were several shades darker as she continued to glare back at him, and Hook knew how much self-control she had to muster not to jump right out at him.

"I didn't really have a choice, now, did I Captain?" she pointed out with an icy voice.

Hook let out a low chuckle and shook his head slightly.

"Please correct me if I'm wrong, love." he replied with a sly smile on his lips. "But as far as I know, you indeed _had _a choice how to spend tonight's dinner."

The beauty's nostrils flared at that and she narrowed her eyes.

"A choice between the devil and the deep blue sea." she hissed between clenched teeth, and her eyes were now practically burning with fury.

Hook shook his head slightly, the charming smile on his lips never faltering.

"I'm sorry you see it that way, love." he mock-pouted. "I hope the delicacies I've ordered for us for tonight's dinner will change your mind then."

He gently took her hand and his and led her to a chair nearby.

"It was not the food I was worried about." Belle replied with raised brows as she sat down at the table.

Hook took the place across from her and smiled brightly at her.

"You are my guest, love." he clarified with a smooth voice as he leant heavily against the rest. "Guests don't have to be afraid of their hosts."

He lifted his good hand, signaling Smee to step out of the rooms shadows and to fill the goblets of wine on the table.

Belle immediately recognized the short pirate from earlier, and followed him as he filled her glass with a reassuring smile on his lips.

"I believe you've already met Mr. Smee?" Hook asked and Belle nodded her silent response. "He's the ship's first mate. Rest assured that you can always approach him whenever you have a problem during your stay onboard of my ship."

He leant a little bit closer and threw another shiny smile at her.

"Unless I'm around, of course." he added with a wink.

Belle's gaze moved between the captain and his first mate until she finally settled her gaze on the first mate.

"Thank you." she said and nodded with the tiniest of smiles toying around her lips.

Hook furrowed his brows as he watched her. The tiny smile she was giving the other man should be aimed at the ship's captain, not Smee. After all, it was _him _who offered her shelter and safety, not his first mate.

"You're very welcome, love." Hook replied nonetheless, covering the tiny hint of anger with one of his most charming smiles.

The young woman moved her gaze away from Smee and looked back at the captain, the small smile on her face vanishing immediately as she stared at him with distant, cold eyes.

Hook sighed inwardly. He started to realize that this princess was just as stubborn as beautiful and that it would take him a lot more than one or two of his charming smiles to make her fall for him.

But being the pirate that he was, a challenge would make things only more interesting, and he was only too eager to accomplish that one.

He dismissed Smee then, telling him to wait in front of the door in case they'd need him once again. But in this very moments, he wanted to be alone with the beauty in front of him.

During dinner, Hook used all of his flirty behavioral and language repertoire to break the wall of stubborn resistance the beauty had built up around her. He knew that she was not as unaffected by his charms as she pretended to be. After all, he had seen and felt it as they had danced at her father's ball and when he had suddenly kissed her. Sure, she had been rather surprised when his lips had suddenly found hers, but Hook knew that she had given in to the kiss for the slightest of moment, that she had _enjoyed _it nonetheless.

She just needed time.

But Hook had to admit that it was getting more and more frustrating. No matter what he told her, no matter in what way he looked at her and what compliment he made, the beauty wouldn't give in. She was just staring at him with narrowed eyes, her brows firmly furrowed, and her lips a constant thin line.

He was just about to tell her once again how stunningly beautiful she looked in that dress when the princess finally interrupted him with a long sigh.

"Tell me Captain…" she said with raised brows. "What exactly is it that you want?"

Her voice and look was determined and challenging at the same time, and for the slightest of moments, Hook was surprised that none of his efforts had apparently worked with that particular princess.

But he instead flashed another of his charming smiles at her and shook his head slightly.

"I believe I've already told you, love." he answered.

The princess stared at him with cocked head.

"You didn't." she disagreed sternly. "You told me that my abduction was… how did you say that? … an _unfortunate misunderstanding_."

The smile across his face vanished.

"Aye." he confirmed lowly. "That it was."

The brunette nodded before she continued.

"And we've agreed on the fact that my father won't be able to pay ransom, so my stay onboard of your ship won't benefit you."

Hook offered her a sly smile.

"Well that remains to be seen." he chuckled lowly, and for the briefest of moments, he noticed how the brave façade on the girl's face faltered a little.

She surprised him, however, when she let out a contemptuous and rather unladylike snort.

"You can stop that, you know?" she replied while shaking her head. "No matter what you say or do, it won't work."

Surprised, Hook lifted both brows.

"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that, love?" he asked.

The princess narrowed her eyes as she stared right back at him.

"I'm too smart to be seduced by you." she simply said matter-of-factly, and Hook knew immediately that she had a point there. "So you can put that idea right out of your mind, Captain Hook."

Hook let out an amused, short laugh.

"You're not the first who pretends to be unaffected by my charms, love." he replied with a wink. "But experience tells its own tale. I always win their hearts in the end."

"Well then I'm afraid you're fighting a lost cause with me, Captain." The beauty replied, and a somewhat triumphant smile was toying around her lips. "You can't win a heart that already belongs to someone else."

Hook let out another dark chuckle and traced the rim of his goblet, shaking his head.

"It wouldn't be the first time I hear that line, love." he retorted in a clearly amused voice.

He then lifted his gaze to look at the woman opposite from him from under his dark lashes.

"Makes things only more interesting." he all but purred seductively.

He noticed with a hint of satisfaction how the beauty's cheeks flushed a little, either from arousal or fury – or a combination of both, he didn't know - and Hook found it more and more amusing to watch her regain her composure over again.

But there was another feeling that had started to cloud his mind and heart the moment she had mentioned the man who possessed her heart. The image of her fiancé appeared before his mind's eye, and a hint of fury was starting to reach is heart.

"Excuse me, love…" he therefore said with raised brows, eying the beauty closely. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have to admit that I didn't get the impression that you were too fond of your fiancé at the ball."

Hook watched with interest as the look on her face darkened a little and she let out a cheerless laugh.

"It's an interesting thing that everyone seems to notice except for him, isn't it?" she said darkly, actually more to herself than to Hook.

"Ah…" Hook said with a tiny smirk. "So you gave your heart to someone entirely else. How…." he paused there, swirling his hook gracefully through the air. "… _romantic_."

Belle's eyes furrowed even further as she detected the hint of sarcasm that was resonating heavy in the pirate's voice.

"Who is it, I wonder…" Hook continued, smiling mischievously at the princess.

"A stable boy, perhaps?" he guessed amused, watching the woman's reaction closely. "No? A brave soldier who would fight any battle for the beautiful princess then?"

Belle took in a deep breath, trying to calm her enraged and fluttering heart.

After some more moments, she therefore offered the pirate a cheerless smile, and shook her head.

"Guess as much as you want, Captain Hook." she stated firmly. "It won't change the fact that I won't be looking for love onboard of your ship."

"So I begin to see." Hook agreed, stroking his three-day-old beard with his good hand.

"Then I assume that's the part where you are begging me to bring you back to your mysterious lover so that the two of you can live happily ever after?" Hook continued with a sigh, a slight hint of taunting coloring his words.

Belle let out a contemptuous laugh and shook her head.

"Hardly." she muttered.

Hook arched one of his brows, unable to not let see the irritation the word that has escaped Belle's mouth had made him to feel.

"You don't?" he simply had to ask.

As he watched the beauty across from the table, he didn't fail to notice the slight change in her body language. The initial confidence seemed to have faltered a little as the princess was now staring firmly onto the table in front of her, her lips pressed to a thin line.

"But you said…" he began, but was immediately interrupted by her sharp voice.

"What I said…" the beauty continued and looked up to look him straight into his eyes. "… is that my heart belongs to someone else. No more, no less."

Hook stared at her for some more moments of tensed silence. He knew the dark expression on her face only too well.

She was hurting – suffering from a broken heart. And he knew that there was much more to tell, but that Belle was not yet willing to share her tale.

Somehow, he felt sorry for her, and for the first time that evening, seducing the beauty seemed no longer be as tempting as only minutes before.

"Then what is it that you want?" he finally asked with a softness in his voice that surprised not only Belle, but himself as well.

Hook didn't know where the words had come from, but amazingly enough, he found himself genuinely interested.

Belle cocked her head, choosing her words wisely.

"Freedom." she answered after some more moments of silence.

An appreciative smile toyed around the corners of Hook's lip.

"Clever answer." he admitted lowly, more to himself than to the princess.

There was another beat of silence between them as his gaze followed the movement of his index finger that traced the rim of his wine goblet.

"So you no longer want to go back to your father's castle?" he finally asked, sounding a little bit confused.

Belle hesitated for a moment, but eventually shook her head no.

"I don't." she admitted softly.

"Why."

Belle stood up from her chair and moved towards the large window, staring out at the glistering dark sea.

"Because the only things that await me there are a life of a dull little princess at court, a loveless marriage to a brute who will make my life a living hell, and a lifetime of courtesies and superficialities."

She paused a moment, leaning one hand softly against the cool glass of the window.

"There must be more than that." she added quietly, her eyes looking longingly out into an unknown future she so desperately wanted.

Hook stared at her thoughtfully. He had encountered many women, many _princesses _in his life, but never had he met someone like her. She was different from the others – and at some point, she reminded him of the one woman who had died so many years ago. A woman who, too, had yearned for more in life, who had desperately tried to escape the one she had led until they'd met.

But, then again, maybe this princess was just a romantic fool, bored by an uneventful life at court, not knowing what life outside a castle really meant.

He silently stood up and moved closer towards her until he was standing right behind her. Hook saw as the beauty's body tensed at his presence, but she didn't turn around.

"An unknown future can be quite a foolish and frightening thing to yearn for." he whispered, his warm breath tickling the skin of her neck. "Are you sure you are ready for that, princess?"

She reluctantly turned around to face him. She was staring up at him with her dazzling blue eyes that made Hook feel dizzy for the slightest of moments.

"Sometimes…" she began, her voice barely a whisper. "… the future changes quickly and completely, and we are left with only the choice of what to do next. We can choose to be afraid of it, to stand there trembling and not moving, assuming the worst that can happen. Or we step forward into the unknown and assume it will be a big adventure. I for one, Captain Hook, prefer choosing the latter."

A smile was forming on the captain's lips as he listened to her genuine explanation.

"Aye." he agreed lowly as he stared down into those diamond-like, glistering eyes. "A wise choice indeed, love."

Belle noticed the strange gleam that was forming behind the captain's eyes, and hope was starting to bloom in her heart.

"So you will set me free as soon as we've reached the next port then?" she asked, a genuine smile now carved into her beautiful features.

Hook stared at her for some more moments of silence.

"No." was his answer as he flashed his pearly teeth brightly at her when he suddenly turned around, walking away from her.

"No?" Belle gasped, the smile completely gone from her face.

That had not been the answer she had been looking for.

But Hook simply let out a low chuckle and opened the door.

"Mr. Smee." he addressed the short pirate who was still waiting outside the cabin. "Would you please show our guest to her room?"

Confused, Belle shook her head as Smee entered.

"If you think for a second that I will spend the night _with you _in your chambers then…" she began heatedly, the flush already forming on her cheeks.

But she choked on the threat when Hook interrupted her with another of his low chuckles.

"Please don't think me stupid enough to assume you'd be quite that easy, love." he laughed as he turned around to offer her a cheeky grin.

"Mr. Smee will show you to your own cabin, princess." he then explained with a smirk. "It'll be yours as long as you'll stay onboard of my ship."

Belle's eyes widened as she stared at him with utter confusion plainly written across her face.

"Unless you prefer sleeping with the crew, that is." Hook added and raised his brows at her.

He let out a long sigh when Belle's expression didn't change.

"You want a change in life, don't you love?" the captain finally.

"Yes, but I thought…" she began, but the words faded away when she met Hook's amused gaze.

"I'm offering you something far better than seeking adventure all alone." he explained smiling brightly at her.

He leant heavily against the wooden wall, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"A chance to join my crew." he added after some more moments of silence, offering her another cheeky grin.

Belle's eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

"Are you asking me to become a pirate?" she gasped, shaking her head.

Hook let out a hearty laugh.

"Let's call it 'piratess on trial'." he chuckled. "But yes, I think you'd become rather helpful."

He then turned around so that Belle was staring at his back.

"You've the night to consider my offer." he said.

With these words, he lifted his hook, signaling Smee to show her out.

Belle was just about to retort something, when the ship's first mate grabbed her arm and tried to pull her rather softly out of the dining room.

"Come one, Miss Belle." he whispered as he led her out. "You should get some sleep."

Belle cast one last glance at Hook, but his back was the only thing she could see as the door closed behind them.


	4. Only Air

_**Chapter 4**_

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Hook was standing at the upper deck's rail, staring at the glistering sea beneath him. He listened to the soft waves that were crashing monotonously against the wood of his ship, heard the joyful bawling of his gambling and fighting crew – and yet, none of that was able to dispel the image of chestnut curls and glistering blue eyes from his mind.

He shook his head absentmindedly, probably for the thousandth time since she had decided to join his crew, and replaying the happenings that had taken place since then over and over again, wondering _how_ exactly things had turned out to be they were now.

It had begun pretty simple: pirate meets princess, princess gets captured, pirate plans to seduce princess during dinner and lets her go free when they'd reach the next port.

And he wouldn't look back even once.

So much for his original plan how his encounter with the princess of Avonlea would, or rather _should have_ – played out – and end.

But things barely played out the way they had been planned.

Hook should have known that before.

He didn't know how exactly things had happened, but instead of becoming a fleeting acquaintance, Belle would become something more … permanent – lasting even.

He barely even knew the beauty that he had suggested to become a part of his crew – to become a piratess at that.

Hook shook his head once again, disbelievingly.

What the hell had he been thinking?!

He had shared a dance with her, had kissed her, had had dinner with her – what had made him believe that she would be able to survive the life on a pirate ship that night?!

A woman onboard of a ship always meant bad luck – every sailor knew that.

And a princess onboard of a ship, plus an extraordinary beauty such as her, would mean double bad luck.

She would be a burden, would cause trouble and fights between the hungry crew members.

She would be completely useless.

Thinking about all the bad consequences, Hook had nearly recanted his offer.

Hell, he hadn't even thought that she would actually accept his offer!

But she had – and as a man of honor, well, more or less, he couldn't simply change his mind.

So what had made him choose to keep her nonetheless?

Well, the answer was actually pretty simple – and it wasn't the heart of an honorable man that was beating in his chest.

She intrigued him – and the few words she had uttered the other night about freedom had shown him more than he had ever dared to assume.

The princess seemed to be more than a pretty face with sensual curves – and Hook had had a pretty tough job to look past them. He had encountered many beautiful women during his long life, but he had to admit that this princess – _Belle _– was … different.

When he had listened to her words, when he had seen the look on her face and the determination in her sparkling eyes, something had gone straight to his heart and had reminded him of something he had experienced a few times before.

She was lost – a lost soul, just like his crew of pirates.

Just like himself.

So instead of reconsidering his offer, he had just nodded when she had told him that she would accept – on condition of a few restrictions of course.

Oh the pretty little princess was a feisty one – and the captain had to admit that he liked that. She told him that she would only join his crew on the condition that he would make sure that neither his crew nor he would do her any harm, that he would give her proper clothing, and that she would be allowed to continue sleeping in the small cabin Smee had led her to the other night.

Hook had replied with a cheeky smile, telling her that he accepted her conditions, but that she would be always quite welcome to reconsider the last point and warm _his _bed instead.

Needless to say that her response to his suggestion had been a furious spate of angry insults and curses – choices of words that seemed to be rather inappropriate for a young lady-princess such as Belle.

Not that he hadn't mind – he soon had found out that making the princess lose composure when he was around would become quite an enjoyable pastime for him.

"Careful, sweetness!" Hook heard someone call with a roaring laughter, startling him out of his deep thoughts. "You're gonna hurt yourself!"

Hook tore his eyes away from the glistering water surface and turned around to look where the voice had come from.

He spotted Woodsworth standing on the lower deck of the ship, holding a long sword tightly in his hand and pointing it at the young beauty across from him.

The image of one of his pirates threatening the princess made the alarm bells start ringing in the captain's head. Hook was just about to step in, to rescue the beauty from this dangerous situation, when a melodic giggle made him stop in motion.

"You should better watch out yourself, Mr. Woodsworth." Belle retorted cheerfully and raised her own, significantly shorter sword and pointed it playfully at the pirate. "You should never threaten a woman with a sword!"

That earned a low, deep chuckle from Mr. Juba, who was standing right next to her, arms crossed in front of his broad chest as he nodded his agreement.

"You should listen to her, Woodsworth." he agreed with a hint fake seriousness on his face. "Remember what she did to Smith's pretty face when he tried to attack her. And that was before I taught her how to lead the sword."

Woodsworth let out another, roaring laughter and lowered his sword as a sign of surrender.

"Alright, alright!" he chuckled. "I would never dare and cross blades with such a dangerous and threatening opponent."

He then bowed his head lowly with a cheeky grin and said: "Please forgive me, princess. I was a fool to even try!"

Hook saw how the shiny smile on the princess' face broadened.

She whirled the sword in her hand gracefully through the air, a movement she had no doubt learned from Mr. Juba, and raised her chin high.

"You shall be forgiven, good Sir." she replied in a mock-aristocratic tone. "I think I'll let you live. For now."

Another deep chuckle escaped Woodsworth's mouth as he brought his hand to his chest.

"Oh I am so relieved!" he exclaimed with a gasp and a twinkle in his blue eyes. "But consider this, sweetness: who would show you how to win against Juba at playing cards if you killed me now?"

The chestnut-haired beauty let out another melodic laugh and turned her head to look at Mr. Juba.

"Well that's a pretty important job, indeed!" she laughed. "I really need to get that necklace back I lost the last time I played against you."

She then cocked her head and looked at the tall pirate reproachfully.

"Even though I still believe you were cheating the other night!" she chided with raised brows.

Mr. Juba let out dark chuckle and held is hands up in defense.

"Miss Belle, you think the worst of me…" he replied with mock-hurt. "You shouldn't be too wary of us!"

The princess rolled her eyes and shook her head, her wavy curls swaying softly in the process.

"Well I'm onboard of a ship full of pirates." she explained and winked at him. "A little wariness here and there seems rather appropriate to me."

"Clever girl, isn't she?" another, dark voice announced. "Pretty lasses like you really should watch your back on this ship."

Hook saw how Belle's body stiffened as she looked at the man who had joined the group, and his own body tensed as well as he saw that Smith had appeared on deck.

"Or rather skirt." Smith added with a mischievous smirk on his face as his eyes were firmly glued on Belle's body.

Juba and Woodsworth immediately stepped on either of Belle's side, eying the other pirate with dangerously glistering eyes.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere peeling potatoes, Smith?" the shorter pirate said coldly, his eyes slightly narrowed at the other man.

Smith let out a low, clattering chuckle and shook his head.

"Shouldn't you be minding your own business, _Woody_?" he retorted nonchalantly, earning a low, guttural growl from the short pirate.

"What is it that you want, Smith?" Juba addressed him, his strong arms defiantly crossed before his chest.

Smith just shrugged his shoulders, tracing the point of the small dagger his was holding in his hand.

"Well, I am rather lonely down there in the kitchen, so I wondered if our pretty little lass here would join me."

He shifted his gaze to look at Belle with dark, lusty eyes.

"After all…" he added with a significantly darker voice. "As far as I remember it's her fault that I have been doing the slave-work for more than two weeks now."

The beauty shivered and took a small step closer towards Juba who was standing protectively next to her.

A sinister smile appeared on Smith's face.

"It would only be fair, wouldn't it, sweetness?" Smith continued, leering at her. "I'm sure we'll find one way or another how those pretty little fingers of yours will …" he let out a short, rough laugh. "… _repay_ me for the troubles you've caused me."

Hook had heard enough.

He noisily cleared his throat and stepped closer towards the rail of the upper deck so that the group was able to see him clearly.

"And what would that be, I wonder, Mr. Smith?" the captain inquired innocently, his head cocked and his brows raised in interest.

Smith's eyes widened as he spotted the Captain who was staring down at them from the upper deck, but he didn't reply.

Hook waited for some more moments of tensed silence before he made a clicking sound with his tongue. With one swift movement, he jumped the rail of the upper deck where he was standing and landed gracefully on the planks of the lower deck – right between Belle and Smith.

"Catfish got your tongue?" Hook asked with a smirk as he straightened up again and stared at the other pirate with cold eyes.

No reply.

"Well, Mr. Smith…" Hook sighed and stroked his three-days-beard with his good hand. "… I have the impression that you not only lost the ability to speak, but also the one to listen."

Smith pressed his lips to a thin line and slowly shook his head.

"No?" the captain asked, mock-surprise sounding heavy in his voice. "Well, that's funny because I believe I've told you explicitly neither to speak nor to come anywhere close Miss Belle – except I tell you to, of course."

Hook wiggled his head from one side to the other.

"And please correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Smith, but I believe the last thing I told you was to peel potatoes, and not to ask Miss Belle to …" he paused there for a moment, his eyes narrowing to slits. "… _help _you with that." he hissed in a significantly colder voice.

Smith's eyes sparkled with a strange gleam of darkness, but after moments that felt like hours, he finally forced his head to nod.

"Aye, Captain." The pirate agreed gruffly.

"Good." Hook exclaimed cheerfully and threw a pearly smile at the other man. "Then I suggest you should go back to the kitchen, wouldn't you agree?"

Smith nodded curtly.

His eyes swayed one last time to look past Hook and to glare at Belle, before he finally turned around, ready to leave.

"Oh, Mr. Smith… one more thing." Hook called out, making Smith turn warily around.

The captain slowly moved closer, a mischievous smirk toying around his lips.

He bent closer so that his lips were nearly touching Smith's ear, and pressed the sharp tip of his hook against the side of Smith's body, making him wince in pain.

"No matter what part of your body you had in mind for Miss Belle to touch, rest assured that it will be my sword that will make contact with it first if you dare to propose something like that ever again."

With these words, he released him, offering Smith a toothy grin as they parted.

A strange mixture of fury and fear was mingling in Smith's eyes as he stared back at the ship's captain, but eventually nodded again and turned to leave.

Hook followed Smith until he vanished below deck, and then turned around to look at the remaining group, quirking one brow at them.

"Mr. Juba, Mr. Woodsworth…" he addressed the two remaining men. "I believe it was your turn to scrub the upper deck today, wasn't it?"

"Aye, Captain." both replied dutifully.

Hook wiggled his head once again from one side to the other.

"Well then I wonder what you're still doing down here." he sighed. "The upper deck is rather dirty, and a pirate is only as good as the planks he walks on, isn't he? Or do the two of you think you're above such a job?"

Both men shook their head.

"No, Captain."

Hook slowly shook his head, clicking his tongue reproachfully.

"It's my fault, Captain." Belle chimed in before he was able to voice another word, staring at Hook with steady eyes. "I asked Mr. Woodsworth and Mr. Juba to help me improve my fighting skills."

"Oh, is that so?" he asked with a smirk, and Belle nodded her silent response.

"Well that's of course more important than scrubbing decks, I suppose." he added, and Belle's eyes narrowed as she noticed the slight hint of sarcasm that was resonating in Hook's voice.

"Well, it is for _me_." she retorted gruffly, throwing an evil glare at him.

Hook let out a low chuckle and shook his head slightly.

"Mr. Juba, Mr. Woodsworth, would you now be so kind and get back to work?" he addressed the two pirates once again, without taking his eyes off of Belle.

The two men threw a side-glance at the young beauty that stood beside them, and who was holding the captain's gaze steadily with a defiant gleam in her eyes.

When they didn't move, Hook tore his eyes away from Belle's crystal blue, sparkling diamonds, and threw a challenging look at the two men.

"You could also join Mr. Smith and spend the rest of the day peeling potatoes if you'd prefer."

Both of them immediately shook their heads no and made their way quickly towards the upper deck, leaving Belle and the captain back alone on the lower deck.

Hook offered her a toothy, shiny smile – but as always, Belle wouldn't smile back at him.

He inwardly sighed heavily.

After all, he had just _rescued _her!

Sure, he had always enjoyed challenges, especially when they involved beautiful women and charming them.

But Belle was an entirely different kind of woman. She had a wall of stubbornness and defiance built up around her – but interestingly enough only when Hook was around.

He had watched her often enough interacting with the rest of the crew to know that she was normally not a person who would be sparing with smiles and kind words.

And the crew adored her.

Hook had first been concerned how they would react to a woman onboard – but as things had turned out, his doubts had been for no reason. The little princess had won the pirates' hearts in less than one week – well, most of them at least, and the pirates who were still wary about having a princess on board simply chose to avoid her, knowing full well what would happen to them if anyone dared to lay a finger on her.

Smith was the only member Hook was a little concerned about – not seriously so, as Hook had condemned the other pirate to spend most of the time down inside the ship's kitchen with Mr. Boyd.

But still… the way Smith kept staring at the beauty whenever she was around made Hook's blood boil – even though the pirate hadn't done much more than leering at her.

But if Smith would ever dare and seriously try and touch the beauty, Hook had vowed that there would be serious consequences, and peeling potatoes for the rest of Smith's miserable life would certainly be not part of his punishment.

"Is there anything else you wanted?" Belle's voice made him refocus.

He threw another shiny smile at her.

"Indeed there is." Hook replied sweetly. "May I have a word in private, love?"

Belle glanced around before she returned her gaze to look back at the ship's captain.

"Isn't that private enough?" she asked him with a challenging look on her beautiful face, earning a hearty laugh from Hook.

"Afraid not, love." he chuckled and leant in a little bit closer.

"Planks have ears, you know?" he answered lowly, giving her a mischievous wink.

Belle hesitated for a moment, eying him with a wary look, before she answered.

"Fine." she finally agreed, nodding her head shortly.

Hook gave her a triumphant grin and motioned her to follow him towards the Captain's Quarters.

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* * *

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Once arrived, Hook closed the door behind them, leaning heavily against it. He crossed his arms before his chest, the smirk on his face never faltering as he eyed the beauty closely.

One thing he had learned rather quickly about Belle so far was that she was quite a curious young woman. She was always interested in learning new things, always in quest of finding more about… well more about anything. Quite an interesting and rare quality in a princess.

He watched her roam his room, how she let her small, soft fingers trail over several books that were lying on top of the oaken desk, and eying them with genuine interest. Hook even started to wonder if the princess even remembered if he was still there, or why she was even here – so absorbed was she in exploring his room.

The smirk on his face changed into a small, genuine smile as he watched her.

Yes, she was entirely different to the princesses he had met so far.

She had reached the golden compass when he finally decided to draw her attention back to him.

He cleared his throat, making her look back up again, a hint of confusion clouding her beautiful eyes that made Hook's grin broaden.

"Oh don't mind me." he chuckled, cocking his head as he smiled at her.

A strange expression appeared on her normally confident looking face, and she began to nervously straighten the non-existent wrinkles in her ankle-length blue skirt he had given her.

"So…" she started with a hoarse voice when Hook didn't make the impression to continue their conversation. "Private enough?"

Hook wiggled his brows at her, licking his lips.

Belle's eyes widened and she cleared her throat awkwardly, shaking her head immediately.

"I mean…" she began anew. "You wanted to _talk_ to me?", stressing the word _talk _pointedly.

Hook cocked his head, not even bothering to hide the amused smirk on his lips.

"Aye, love." he agreed, pushing himself from the heavy door and approaching her slowly. "But we could always do something entirely else if you'd prefer."

Belle narrowed her beautiful eyes at that and glared back at him.

"What are you talking about." she hissed.

Hook leant in closer into her personal space, noticing how her breathing started to increase significantly.

"Ah there are a few things I have in mind." he whispered, smirking at her mischievously. "It's fun – you should try it!"

Belle took in a sharp breath, before she pushed him forcefully away from her.

"If that's all you wanted to talk to me about, then…" she started furiously, but was immediately interrupted by Hook's hearty laugh.

"Of course not." he said with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Belle stared at him with a wariness in her eyes that made him let out a long sigh. No woman he had encountered before had been that stubborn to resist his charms.

"I'm genuinely sorry, love." he finally apologized and took her hand in his, placing a gentle kiss on top of it. "I'm afraid that's just an entrenched habit of mine whenever I see a beautiful woman such as you."

Belle snatched her hand away from him, crossing her arms in front of her chest to keep her hands out of reach of Hook's lips.

They remained in silence for some time, until Hook finally chose to break it.

"I just wanted to know if you're doing alright onboard of my ship so far." he finally sighed, the leering look on his face changing to genuine interest. "After all, you're under my protection and after what I've observed earlier, I was wondering if the crew is treating you well."

Belle eyed him for some moments of silence, until she finally nodded with a tiny smile on her face.

"I think we're getting along rather well." the beauty finally answered.

Hook stayed silent for some more moments, waiting for her to elaborate on her situation onboard of the Jolly Roger.

When she didn't answer, he quirked one brow at her.

"What about Smith?" he asked slowly. "Did he try anything with you?"

Belle's body stiffened that didn't go unnoticed by Hook, mistaking her reaction.

"No." she finally answered steadily.

"And I'm perfectly able to look after myself, Captain Hook." she added, raising her chin high. "There's no need of treating me like a child. I can handle Smith."

Hook couldn't help but letting out a sarcastic laugh.

"Can you, now?" he taunted and shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, love: But I highly doubt that."

There was a strange beat of silence before Belle finally answered.

"Maybe not." she agreed, and Hook furrowed his brow. "But I have made friends onboard of this ship."

She made a meaningful pause there, raising her brows in a challenging manner.

"Friends who would protect me if Smith chose to do me any harm. Rest assured: I don't need your help with this one."

The captain stared at her before he slowly moved closer.

"I could protect you better than any of them, love." he offered lowly, moving until he was standing right in front of her, as close enough as a person could get without actually touching. "_I _can be your friend."

Belle was staring up at him, her blue eyes glistering with uncertainty.

He slowly lifted his good hand, the back of it lingering right above her warm cheek, but without touching.

"You just need to let me." he added with a whisper.

Belle lifted her hand as well and gently closed it around Hook's.

She moved her lips even closer until they were hovering right above his, making a satisfied gleam appear in the pirate's eyes.

Finally – no woman was able to resist his charms in the end.

"Why long for things, Captain…" she merely breathed against his lips, causing a tingling sensation to wash through his body. "… if they are not meant to be yours?"

With these words, she led his hand back down and released it, taking a step away from him.

Hook stared at her with a plainly confused look on his face.

There was a determined look on Belle's face, and Hook thought to have detected the slight hint of a triumphant smirk toying around her gorgeous, plump lips.

"So if there's nothing else you wanted to talk to me about…" she said, holding his still confused gaze a second longer, before she finally swayed past him, heading for the door.

"Deny it all you want, love." he called after her, turning around to look her straight into her eyes. She was standing at the entrance of his room, her hands on the door handle, and staring back at him with a challenging look.

"But _I _do remember the way you gave in to that kiss back at your father's castle."

He threw a seductive smirk at her, holding her gaze with an intensive look in his eyes.

There was a long beat of silence between them that was only broken when Belle finally let out a contemptuous, cheerless laugh, shaking her head slowly.

"I was invisible for too long…" she answered hoarsely, but her blue eyes hard as steal. "… it was simply good to be noticed."

The smirk on Hook's face faded as he noticed the determined strength in her voice.

"But don't confuse this with any kind of _affection_, Hook. There isn't anything between us." she paused there for a moment, giving him a cheerless smile.

"Only air."

With these words, she left, closing the door silently behind her.

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* * *

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It was late that night when there was a knock on his door.

Hook didn't answer, but just threw another sharp dagger at the picture inside his cupboard.

"Captain?" he heard Smee call for him, but Hook chose to rather ignore his first mate completely.

He had no intention of talking to him – bloody hell, he had no intention of talking to anyone that night.

Another dagger hit the painting.

Smee knocked once again against the heavy, wooden door – more forcefully that time.

"Captain!" he shouted once again, finally earning an angry growl from Hook.

"Captain I know you are in there!"

Hook let out a contemptuous snort.

"Well isn't he the cleverest of them all?" he muttered sarcastically to himself and threw yet another dagger at his cupboard.

The door slowly creaked open as Smee finally found the courage to enter.

"Captain, I…" he began, but before he was able to voice another word, Hook swirled around and threw a dagger at him that hit the wood right next to Smee's left ear.

Smee's eyes widened in shock as he first stared at the dagger that had missed him only by a hairbreadth, and then at the dark-looking captain whose hand was still outstretched.

"I didn't allow you to come in, Mr. Smee." Hook growled.

Smee's mouth was slightly ajar when his eyes moved to look at the remaining daggers at Hook's belt.

Hook rolled his eyes and focused his attention back on the painting inside the cupboard.

"Don't fret, mate." he assured and threw another dagger with a little bit more force than necessary at the paining. "I'm quite skilled at what I'm doing."

Smee let out a nervous chuckle and nodded.

"Of course, Captain." he agreed immediately as he tried to take the dagger that had almost hit him off the wooden wall.

Silence was stretching between them, and the only noise that could be heard was the sound of flying daggers that pierced torn paper.

"Did you have a bad day, Captain?" Smee finally dared to inquire, but immediately clapped his mouth shut when Hook gifted him with an evil look.

"Well what gave you the impression, I wonder, Mr. Smee?!" Hook growled sarcastically, and threw another dagger.

Smee, obviously missing the sarcastic tone in his captain's voice, just shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the painting inside the cupboard.

"Well, you always throw daggers at him whenever you get angry." he told him, shrugging his shoulders anew. "That's your way of dealing with things."

Hook let out a cheerless laugh.

"My way of dealing with things is cutting throats, Mr. Smee." he replied icily. "You should know that by now."

Smee paled visibly and nodded eagerly.

"Of course, Captain." The first mate was quick to confirm.

Hook automatically reached for his belt, intending to take another dagger to throw – but found that he had run out of them.

He let out an exasperated sigh and made his way towards the painting.

"It just helps me think." he muttered as he pulled a dagger out of one painted reptilian-looking eye.

Smee nodded his silent agreement, finally understanding that he should better leave the captain to his own, dark thoughts that night.

Hook turned around, quirking one brow at his first mate.

"Any particular reason why you've decided to disturb me that late?"

"No…" Smee answered nervously, and added. "Uh… I mean yes." when the captain shot another glare at him.

"The crew is wondering which course we are taking at the moment." he continued hastily. "None of us has seen a port since we've left Miss Belle's home two weeks ago."

The name made Hook's face darken immediately, and he turned his attention back to the painting, throwing another dagger at the already mostly damaged face.

"We're heading towards Port Rose in King Stephan's realm." he said gruffly. "We'll stop there for supplies."

"Any particular reason why we are heading that way?" Smee inquired with genuine interest.

Hook lowered his hand and stared at the painting across the room with a cheerless smirk on his lips.

"There always is." was his simple reply.

Smee turned his gaze to look at the picture as well.

"Have you found a way to kill him?" the first mate whispered excitedly and stared at the scaly face on the picture.

Hook let out a long sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

"Not yet." he said. "But I'm planning to meet someone who might know: A sorceress who lives in this realm."

He shifted his gaze away from the painting to look at Smee.

"We'll probably need two more weeks until we've reached Port Rose, maybe one if the wind is on our behalf. So hurry and tell them that."

Smee nodded eagerly, and quickly headed towards the door.

"Oh, and Mr. Smee." Hook called out when his first mate had almost exited the room.

Smee turned around to look at him expectantly, and noticed the slightly uncomfortable look on the captain's face.

"Would you keep an eye on Miss Belle for me?" Hook said after a long beat of silence, his voice sounding somehow uncertain and hoarse. "I want you to tell me whenever one of the crew approaches her."

His eyes darkened significantly.

"Especially when the certain one is Mr. Smith." Hook added darkly.


	5. Storm is Brewing

_**Chapter 5**_

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It was her fourth week onboard the Jolly Roger when the big storm hit. The entire crew had been anxious and restless for three days now, and Woodsworth had told her that a storm on open sea was always something to watch out for. Belle had looked up into the blue sky then, asking him with a confused expression on her face why he thought that the weather was going to change. The old pirate had just smirked at her, and had pointed at the Captain who had been busy barking at Jonathan, one of the younger pirates.

"The Captain knows." Woodsworth had told her with an almost reverent look on his face. "He senses the change in the wind, sweetness. A storm is brewing."

Belle had rolled her eyes at that, and had shaken her head disbelievingly.

"Trust me, sweetness." Woodsworth had insisted with a knowing smirk. "In three days' time, you'll see."

And he had been right.

_Hook _had been right.

On the third day, the sky had suddenly darkened, and the wind had started to blow with more force than ever before. Waves had started to become bigger and bigger until they had reached the size of the enormous trees in the forests of the Northern Kingdom, and a portentous thunder growling in the distant foreshadowed what would soon reach the pirate's ship.

The storm had reached the Jolly Roger completely by now, and the wooden ship was pitching and tossing like an insignificant nutshell on the angry and roaring sea. Belle had curled up on her fluffy bed, trying to keep herself busy as best as she could without worrying too much.

She knew that a storm like that was a dangerous thing, but Juba had assured her that the Jolly Roger had survived much worse thunder-storms, and the Captain knew what he was doing and how to lead all of them safely out of this one.

Belle was not a fool – she knew that, no matter what else she might think about the ship's captain personally, he was an extraordinarily skilled sailor and leader nonetheless.

Her eyes wandered towards the window and looked out into the dark night, and watched as one angry wave after another splashed against the glass, making her shudder.

She heard the roaring screams from the crew up on deck and their desperate fight against the roaring tempest. She could make out Hook's voice who barked orders at his men, making sure they would all survive the night.

Belle let out another long sigh and shook her head.

Everybody was up there – except for her.

She had wanted to help, and she knew that she wasn't as useless as Hook might think her to be. Her tasks onboard of the Jolly Roger had been pretty simple so far: sewing the pirate's clothes and sails, telling stories for their entertainment, and scrubbing the deck every now and then.

But most of the time, she practiced the art of swordfight with Juba or Woodsworth, even with Hawk from time to time, and was enjoying her time with gambling, listening to the pirates' adventures with bated breath or she was simply watching the glistering sea from the upper deck, thinking about her past and future life.

But now, _now _she would have had the chance to show them that she could help them with the storm – show them that there was more about her than a fragile little princess who was able to sew and tell stories for their mere pleasure… that there was a flame of bravery blazing in her heart. Belle knew that she was not as strong as the other pirates – but she was certainly as strong as Jonathan, a young boy at the age of maybe 13. And if he could help… why couldn't she?

It had been definitely not because she hadn't tried.

When the sky had darkened, she had immediately helped Juba with securing the ship's sails.

That was until Hook had spotted her.

"What do you think are you doing, love?" he had asked her, lifting a brow at her.

"What does it look like, Captain?" Belle had replied boldly with a shrug of her shoulders, pulling the rope with a little bit more force than necessary. "Preparing the ship, of course."

Hook had laughed at that, _laughed _for God's sake!

"I don't think so, love." he had said with a smirk, shaking his head. "This storm is out of your league. Go below deck and let the real pirates do the work."

She had fumed at that, but had tried to reason with him that an additional pair of hands would become more than helpful.

The Captain had just rolled his eyes as a response.

"Go below deck" he had ordered, the sound of his voice resonating with a huge amount of annoyance. "I don't want to watch out for your pretty face when the storm arrives."

With these words, he had turned his back at her, focusing his attention back on the other pirates who were busy securing the ship as good as possible.

Belle had prepared herself to strike back, showing the ship's captain _exactly _what she was thinking about his order. But Juba had stopped her just in time.

"The Captain is right, Miss Belle." he had told her with a soft voice that hadn't fit his outer, rough appearance. "A storm like this is a dangerous thing, and four weeks on a pirate ship doesn't mean you are already ready to face such kind of monster."

Belle angrily clapped her book shut.

"That's just ridiculous!" she muttered to herself. "I'm just as good as the others."

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* * *

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"What the hell are you doing out here?!" Hook all but yelled at her angrily when Belle appeared on deck.

Like the rest of the crew, he was completely soaked, his dark hair wet and messy, and his eyes of a darker shade than she had ever seen them before.

But Belle stood her ground.

Holding onto one thick robe that stretched from one side of the ship to the other, she raised her chin high.

"I'm just as good as any other pirate on this ship!" she called out over the deafening sound of the wind. "I wanna help!"

Another big wave crashed against the side of the ship, making Belle almost loose her balance. The ship's wood creaked and moaned as it tried as good as possible to resist the angry water's force.

"Go back below deck!" Hook barked at her as he tried to hold on to one of the ropes that were connected to the mainmast. "This is no place for a princess!"

Belle all but glared at him with narrowed eyes.

She had faced many monsters in her life – she would also be able to manage this ridiculous storm.

Making her decision, she took a firmer hold on the rope and carefully moved closer where the others were fighting the tempest.

Noticing what she was doing, Hook turned his head quickly around to stare at her, his eyes wide and shaking his head furiously.

He had already opened his mouth, telling her to bloody hell follow his bloody order, when a scream through the roaring night reached his ear.

"Wave's ahead!" he heard Smee call with a clearly frightened tone in his voice.

Hook turned his head portside, and his eyes widened when he saw the enormous monster wave that was building up threateningly in front of the Jolly Roger.

Without thinking a second thought, he jumped at Belle, and forced her to move backwards until she was pressed against the wooden wall that led below deck. He had his hooked arm firmly encircled around her small waist and held her pinned against the wall, his body shielding her from the water that would crash down onto the ship any second.

"Hold on to me!" he panted, his hot breath warm against her cold skin, and Belle complied immediately.

She threw her arms around the Captain's torso and clung tightly to him as if her life was dependent on it. And truth be told, it really was – and she knew it.

Belle closed her eyes tightly, holding onto Hook as firmly as she could, burying her face into his warm, radiating chest.

The wave's force was almost too much for him to bear, its power nearly sweeping both of them off of their feet. But he held his ground as good as he could when he pressed himself and the woman firmly against the wall, and the safety rope around his stomach, yanking and pulling mercilessly, but eventually protecting both of them from being washed overboard. They heard frightened screams through the dark night air, but Hook didn't care – he was too focused on ordering each and every muscle in his body to keep the woman pressed against the wooden wall, shielding her from being caught by the wave's force.

After some moments of muscle-straining protection, it was finally over. The monster wave had practically overrun the Jolly Roger, but had vanished back into the darkness of the sea just as quickly as it had occurred.

Hook finally opened his eyes, panting heavily, and his hooked arm still pressing the princess against his body. Belle was still clinging to him, and her face was pressed tightly against his chest.

After some more moments, and without a word at her, Hook turned his head to look at his exhausted crew, but never loosened his harsh grasp around the princess.

"Is everyone alright?" he barked with a hoarse voice at his crew.

Exhausted muttering greeted him as a response when Hook quickly moved his eyes over his crew, looking if anyone had been caught by the wave.

"Good." he muttered when he realized that his crew was still complete. "We've almost made it through the storm, the worst is over!"

These words finally made Belle look up again. Hook's eyes darkened as he met her gaze, her blue eyes bigger than he had ever seen them before, and shining with an undeniable shimmer of pure fear. With a growl, he finally loosened his grasp around her waist, but immediately captured her left upper arm forcefully. Belle let out a surprised and pained gasp as Hook's fingers dug deep into her skin, but the Captain paid it no mind.

"Mr. McGonna!" he addressed one tall pirate instead, who was wearing an eye patch over his left eye, and had several scars and scratches scattered across his dirty face. "You're taking over command until I'm back! Watch out for the mainsail and keep heading southwards!"

With these words, he forcefully opened the door that led below deck and entered, dragging Belle behind him.

Still being in quite a state of shock, Belle followed him without protest as she let him pull her through the narrow, dark corridors.

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* * *

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Without looking at her even once, Hook opened the heavy door that led to his cabin and pushed Belle forcefully inside.

Belle stumbled in, nearly falling to the ground, but catching herself just in time.

Hook forcefully shut the door closed behind them, leaning his good hand against the wooden door as he held his back turned towards her. There was a heavy beat of silence stretching out between them, and the only noises that could be heard were the orders and cries from upstairs, accompanied by the roaring sound of waves and wind against the ship's sides.

Belle's heart pounded rapidly against her rib-cage as she stared at the captain's back with bated breath. They stayed like this for several more moments of awkward silence, and when her breathing started to return to normal, Belle finally decided address the motionless Captain.

"Hook, I…" she began reluctantly, but was immediately interrupted.

"You!" he all but hissed as he suddenly whirled around and pointed one finger at her. "You shut the hell up!"

Belle gasped in surprise at the harshness in his voice and when she saw the furious and dark expression on Hook's face. Out of instinct, she took one step further away from him, trying to make as much space as possible between her body and the obviously fuming pirate with his dangerously glistering eyes. His lips were formed into a manic snarl, and his eyes were wide open and dark as he pinned her in place with nothing but his enraged gaze. A shiver ran through Belle's spine as realized that she had never seen him _that _mad before – never seen him that furious. And for the first time in four weeks, she was downright afraid of him.

"What _exactly_ were you thinking?!" he snarled and took slow steps towards her, his dirty, heavy boots clicking on the wooden floor with every step he took.

Belle's breathing increased once again as she stared back at him with wide open eyes, moving further away from him.

"I…" she started with a shaky voice, but was once again immediately interrupted by the furious pirate.

"Didn't I tell you to stay below deck?!" he shouted, making Belle flinch. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of the way?!"

Belle bumped against the wooden wall behind her, and fear was fisting around her heart as she realized that there was no further escape from the angry pirate who was moving closer and closer.

He was now standing right in front of her, his heated face only inches away from hers.

"You disobeyed my direct order!" he growled, flashing his eyes darkly at the shivering woman that was trapped between his body and the wall. "If it hadn't been for me, you would be _dead _right now!"

He looked her straight into her watery, glistering eyes for another long moment or two, before he finally pushed himself away from her.

"Or any other member of my crew." he said icily, gifting her with another dark look.

Belle let out a sharp breath when he turned around and finally freed her from his suffocating, dark gaze. She watched him carefully as he walked towards the oaken desk in the middle of the room and placed his hook and hand on its surface, leaning heavily on it.

Belle stared at him for some more moments of tensed silence, until she finally let out a barely audible and croaked "I'm sorry."

Hook immediately let out a contemptuous snort and shook his head.

"Aye, _sorry_." he echoed tauntingly without turning back to look at her.

Belle swallowed hard and gathered all of her remaining strength.

"I wouldn't have gone on dock if you…" she started to explain herself, but regretted her words immediately when Hook suddenly whirled around once again to fix her with another furious growl.

"'If I' what, princess?!" he demanded harshly with narrowed eyes. "Oh no, this is not how it works, woman!"

Belle clapped her mouth shut as she stared at him with frightened eyes, watching each of his steps carefully.

"Listen to that, and listen carefully." Hook told her with a dangerously low voice, and his normally blue eyes now darker than ever before, glistering right back at her.

"Since you've come onboard of _my _ship…" he hissed. "… you're walking around as if you owned it. What exactly gives you the confidence, I wonder? Do you really think that your shiny smiles and kind words would be enough to twist a horde of pirates around your pretty little finger?! Do you really think that would give you enough power to undermine my authority on this ship whenever it suits your book?"

Belle slowly shook her head no in response, and opened her mouth slightly, ready to reply.

But before she could voice a single word, Hook had already continued to snarl at her.

"Let me tell you something, _princess_." he hissed. "If it hadn't been for me, you would have been killed at least ten times by now and would have been double as often raped."

Belle's eyes widened in shock, before she turned her gaze away from him, unable to longer hold his intent gaze.

But Hook would have none of that.

She would have to listen to the ugly truth.

With one swift movement, he was right in front of her, and grasped her chin with two fingers, forcing her head back up to look at him.

"Don't be under the impression that you would have survived a single day onboard of my ship without _my _help, Belle." he whispered through clenched teeth, looking at her through dark eyes. "And this is how you repay me?!"

He held her in place a little longer, searching her watery eyes for some more moments.

"Or is something entirely else pushing you?" he asked lowly, his hot breath fanning over her cold lips. "Were you even hoping to survive on my ship? Or is this rather some kind of death wish of yours after your lover has turned away from you?"

Belle closed her eyes while silent tears were streaming down her reddened cheek.

There was another moment of tensed silence between them.

"All the same." he suddenly spat and abruptly let go of her chin. "I am not going to risk either my or my crew's life ever again just because you so desperately want to die, princess."

Belle slowly opened her eyes again to look at him.

He was still standing close, but not as close as before, but the dark look on his face hadn't vanished in the least.

Without another word, he suddenly turned away from her, and headed towards the door.

"No wait!" Belle croaked out, making Hook freeze in motion.

He slowly turned around, giving her another dark look.

"When you accepted to join my crew, princess…" he addressed her coldly. "You've made a choice – a choice that included following the Captain's order because _I am _the one who knows what's best for my crew."

"Including _you_" he spat and pointed one finger at her.

Hook made a long pause there, the silence ringing heavily in Belle's ears.

"As it seems…" he continued no less icily. "The problem is whether you know why you've made that choice… and if you've made it for the right reasons. If you continue to put me or my crew at risk, you are no longer welcomed on board of my ship."

With that, he turned around and pushed the door forcefully open.

"I'm sorry!" he heard Belle's weak voice whisper.

"Don't be sorry." Hook growled without turning. "Be _better_!"

Without waiting for her to respond, the pirate left the room, slamming the door forcefully shut behind him, and locking the princess inside.

After all, he had a storm to fight.

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* * *

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It was still dark when the storm was finally over. Hook and his crew had managed to make it safely through it, and everyone was glad when the waters had calmed a little and they could finally return to their hammocks to go safely back to sleep.

Hook groaned as he flexed his arching limbs and wiggled his stiff neck slowly from one side to the other. It had been an exhausting night, and the battle against the unrelenting sea difficult and a backbreaking work.

And even though he should have solely concentrated on navigating the Jolly Roger safely through house-high waves, he had caught himself thinking back to frightened blue eyes and wet chestnut curls against pale skin every now and then.

He forcefully pulled the safety rope that had saved his life more than once that night away from his torso and sent it angrily to the ground.

Belle.

Maybe he had been unnecessarily harsh to her earlier – but he had barely been able to control himself. Even now, several hours later, fury was still boiling in his blood when he thought back to what had happened.

He had told her, had _ordered _her to stay below deck and out of the way.

But just as always she had not followed his order – had downright _disrespected_ him.

And had nearly paid the price for her disobedience.

Hadn't he reacted as quickly as he had, she would have been caught by the wave's force and would have been washed overboard.

If it hadn't been for him, the beauty would be gone now – and the mere thought of it was causing a strange feeling to spread through his body. Something he wasn't quite able to pinpoint – but whatever it was, it was accompanied by a great amount of uncontrollable fury.

Hook was now standing in front of the door that led inside his private quarters, suddenly remembering that he had locked the princess inside.

The Captain was wet all over, the salty sea water having soaked practically every part of his body, clothed or not, and each muscle inside his body was arching painfully, demanding their well-deserved rest.

He stood there for some moments, motionless, indecisive what to do.

Making his decision, Hook slowly turned the key and opened the door quietly, expecting a furious Belle to launch a blow at him the moment he would enter the room.

But nothing happened.

Puzzled, he scanned the dark room that was only illuminated by the streams of silvery moonlight that were sparkling through the large squared window.

He doffed his large, soaked leather coat and placed it carelessly onto the wooden desk nearby, when his eyes suddenly fell onto the pieces of clothing that were neatly draped over one chair next to it.

The pirate traced the fine garment with one finger, and knitted his brow as he realized who the still moist blouse and skirt belonged to.

A movement in the shadows of the room finally startled him out of his initial confusion, and his eyes widened as he recognized the small form huddled into one of the overstuffed armchairs in the corner of the cabin.

A brief, sharp pain of guilt pierced his heart when he moved slowly closer and realized that Belle was sleeping there, clothed in nothing but one of his silken shirts and her white chemise.

She was curled up into a ball with her arms wrapped around her small form, but was shivering all over in her sleep.

Hook watched her for a while, once again indecisive what to do. He could simply wake her and tell her to get back to her room – but that would mean talking to her, something he had absolutely no interest in at the moment. Not after a night like this.

He could also just leave her like this, huddled and trembling like an aspen leaf. After all, it was not his fault that her clothes were soaked and that she had nothing proper to wear – quite the contrary actually. She should be glad that she was at least allowed to wear his shirt.

Hook stared at the trembling form for several more moments before he finally let out a long sigh, shaking his head exasperatedly.

With one swift movement, he took Belle up bridal-style and carried her towards his own bed. He carefully lay her down onto the soft sheets and covered her with a warm blanket. She immediately stopped shivering and let out a content sigh as she wrapped the warm sheet tighter around her small form.

Hook watched her a little longer. The princess looked so peaceful, so innocent in this very moment, and for the first time that night, the anger inside him seemed to simply vanish.

His thoughts wandered back to what he had concluded earlier, and he wondered if there really was a death wish deep inside her that was driving her. He had seen it in her eyes, had seen the hurt and the pain when he had mentioned her past lover.

Hook reached out and slowly stroked one thick strand of hair out of her face.

"One day you'll have to tell me who broke your heart." he whispered into the darkness while stroking her cheek lightly. "He might not be worth it, love."

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* * *

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Hook let out a soft groan when felt that something warm and soft was shifting against his own body. Out of instinct he tightened his hold around the something, intending to keep the pleasant warmth pressed against his body. A slight hint of irritation shot through his drowsy form, however, when he felt how his arm was lifted – slowly, carefully – and placed onto the soft, cold sheet of his bed.

Hook finally willed himself to leave the gardens of sleep when the pleasant warmth shifted further away from him, and was replaced by a cool emptiness instead. The pirate slowly forced his eyes to blink open, and the first thing he saw were silken waves of dark curls that flowed down before white fabric.

It was still dark outside, a dim darkness filling the Captain's quarters, and Belle was sitting at the edge of his bed, her back turned to him. Hook watched silently as she hurriedly but quietly folded something black and silken, and placed it next to her onto the soft sheets. He shifted his gaze to the black something on the bed, and he immediately realized that it was one of his black shirts she had chosen to wear that night to protect her fragile form from the cold.

Belle was just about to stand up from the bed, probably to leave his room as soon as possible, when Hook finally made his move. With one quick movement, he reached out his good hand and took hold of her slender wrist, keeping her where she was sitting.

The beauty let out a surprised gasp and whirled around to look at the pirate.

Hook raised his brows at her, staring at her with a reproachful look on his face.

"You're not even going to say good-bye, love?" he chided, his voice sounding hoarse from sleep.

Belle's breath hitched, and her face paled as she met his gaze.

"I…." she replied in a husky voice. "I just wanted to go back to my room."

Her eyes flickered nervously to his bare chest and a satisfied smirk flirted over Hook's lips as he noticed the slight flush that was appearing on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to fall asleep here. It was just…" she moved her body a little, trying to make a little bit more space between them. "The door was locked, and…" she averted her gaze then, avoiding his intense gaze.

"It was quite a stirring night." she continued with a whisper.

Hook finally let go of Belle's wrist as his mind wandered back to what had happened only hours ago.

"Aye." he simply agreed gravely with a nod. "That it was."

There was a long beat of silence between them.

"I should have listened to you." Belle finally said lowly, the words barely audible. "I'm sorry."

She didn't turn her head though, and Hook was only able to make out her profile through the dimness in his room.

She took in a long deep breath before she added quietly: "Disrespecting you has never been my intention. But I understand that you no longer want me onboard of your ship."

Hook stayed silent for some more moments, but finally let out a long sigh.

"It's still dark, love." he said. "Maybe we should have this conversation when the sun's up."

Belle didn't look back, but just gave him a silent nod.

Without another word, she stood up from the bed and made her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Hook's confused voice made her stop before she had reached the door.

Belle slowly turned around and looked at him with furrowed brows.

"To my room?" she rather asked than stated.

Hook couldn't help but smile at her confusion and shook his head.

"Why don't you just keep on staying here for the rest of the night?" he suggested with raised brows, motioning his hand to the space in his bed next to him.

Even through the darkness, he could see the blush that was illuminating her cheeks as she stared at him with wary eyes.

"I…" she began hesitantly. "I don't think it would be a proper thing to do, Captain."

Hook let out a soft laugh and shook his head.

"Searching for properness on a pirate's ship is always rather futile, love." he challenged, amusement coloring his voice. "And wandering a pirate's ship in nothing but a thin chemise can be quite a dangerous thing to do, don't you agree?"

Belle hesitated a moment, the truth of his words slowly reaching her mind and heart when her eyes flickered towards her still wet clothes on the chair.

"Smith has taken over the night-shift by the way." Hook continued as nonchalant as it was possible, forcing himself to keep the mischievous smirk off his face.

Belle's eyes widened at that, and her mouth fell slightly ajar.

"Thought you should know that." Hook finally added innocently, raising his gaze to meet her horrified one.

"Come on, love." Hook urged with a yawn when she still wouldn't make a move, and stretched his limbs thoroughly. "I'm the better choice, believe me. And I swear I'll behave."

There was another moment of indecisiveness in the air, before Belle finally let out a defeated sigh and slowly moved closer back towards the bed.

Hook gave her a triumphant smile and patted the empty space next to him when Belle finally stood before him.

"You swear you won't try anything?" she asked warily with narrowed eyes.

The pirate let out a short, brisk laugh and nodded.

"You are the first woman who actually wouldn't like me try." he said with a wink. "But after I had to save some lives tonight – including yours – I'm way too exhausted to convince you of my advantages tonight."

Belle rolled her eyes as she lay down next to him.

"I've already told you, I'm not like other women." she whispered, turning her head immediately away from him and moved her body to the very edge of the bed.

Hook let out low chuckle and pulled her back against his front, ignoring her squeaking protests.

"I know." he purred lowly against her neck, his lips slightly brushing against her soft skin.

"Even though I have to say…" he continued while his good hand gently stroked strands of hair behind her ear. "… your lack of interest is rather liberating actually."

He traced the side of her neck with his thump up and down.

"I could likely say or do anything…" he whispered, his lips almost touching the shell of her ear. "… and you wouldn't even blink."

A smirk appeared on his face as he felt how a slight shiver ran through her body, but she wouldn't reply – that earned a long sigh from the Captain.

They stayed like this, and even though he knew that Belle wasn't comfortable at all with their sleeping position, she didn't try to wiggle away from his grasp.

Hook had almost drifted off to sleep again, when he suddenly heard Belle's small voice whispering through the dimness of the room.

"I don't want to die." she whispered, but the tone in her voice was firm nonetheless. "I'm hurting, but I would never wish to end my life because of a broken heart."

Hook stayed silent for a while, his good hand stroking her upper arm absentmindedly.

"I just wanted you to know."

"That's good, love." he finally sighed into the crook of her neck. "Your heart's maybe broken, but it's still beating. Believe me, love: your journey has just begun."


	6. The Valiant Little Tailor's Tale

_**Chapter 6**_

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"Hey, Belle! Are you even listening?!" Jonathan's sulky voice called out for her.

Belle blinked a few times before she finally turned her head back to look at the young pirate.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she said, shaking her head a little in confusion.

Jonathan stared at her for some moments, before he crossed his arms sulkily in front of his chest and leant heavily against the wooden back of chair, giving her an annoyed, dark look.

"I was telling you about my encounter with the mermaid Aquata, one of King Triton's daughters." he then replied huffily, his green eyes sparkling at her reproachfully. "But I guess it's not as interesting as I thought."

A pang of guilt pierced Belle's heart as she met his dark gaze, and she immediately put on her most apologetic smile.

"Well at least not as interesting as our Captain, Jonathan." Woodsworth next to her chuckled lowly, and emptied the mug of rum in his hands.

The smile on Belle's face faltered as she turned her head sharply to look at the older pirate, eying him with narrowed eyes and trying to suppress the light flush of pink that was starting to form on her cheeks.

"What is that supposed to mean, Mr. Woodsworth?" she demanded to know as she held her chin high in defiance.

But the pirate just let out another deep chuckle and shook his head while pointing at the direction she had been staring at.

Hook was sitting in one of the darkened corners of the dim tavern, talking to the man who was sitting opposite from him. The stranger had blond hair long enough to touch his shoulders and a handlebar moustache that followed gracefully the line of his upper lip.

"Call it clever observation, dear." Woodsworth said, his liquor-glazed eyes twinkling mischievously back at Belle.

The other pirates at their table immediately joined in his chuckle, and Belle was glad that the dimness inside the tavern was able to cover most of the furious blush on her face.

She therefore just rolled her eyes and shook her head determinedly.

"Don't be ridiculous." she muttered sulkily and occupied her right hand with tracing the rim of the cup of rum in front of her. She glued her eyes on her finger, careful not to meet the pirates' eyes.

"Ah, sweetness." Woodsworth sighed in mock-exasperation. "A pretty piratess you might be, but still a dreadful liar, I'm afraid. But don't fret, sweetness. You wouldn't be the first to fall for our dear Captain, and certainly won't you be the last."

Belle lifted her gaze and glared at the pirate next to her, giving him one of her darkest looks, and her mind running miles in order to find an appropriate answer to shoot back at him.

"Don't be mad at him, Miss Belle." Juba laughed out loud before she could voice a single word, and hit the back of Woodworth's head playfully with his big hand. "He's been drinking a lot tonight."

The older pirate rolled his eyes and stared down into his empty mug.

"Not close enough, mate." he chuckled, bearing several golden teeth, and wiggled the mug in his hand demonstratively before Juba's face.

"But enough to find myself a lovely lady for the night." He added with a hearty laugh, stood up from his chair, and nearly crashed right back onto it due to the great amount of alcohol pumping through his veins.

"Any volunteers?" he shouted through the dark tavern and spread his arms invitingly, swaying dangerously.

"Come on ladies, don't be shy!" the pirate called out disappointedly when no woman seemed to follow his invitation. "You should know there's a reason why they call me Magic Woody!"

Belle clapped her hand in front of her mouth, trying to veil the worst of her giggles as Woodsworth lost his balance and nearly stumbled over his own feet if McGonna hadn't caught him just in time.

"Alright old man." the blond pirate sighed and rolled his good eye while supporting Woodsworth not to lose balance once again. "I think it's your time for the cabin now."

Belle watched in amusement as Woodsworth protested noisily, trying to convince McGonna as good as possible that he was still in control of himself.

Without success of course – and after some more minutes, Belle found herself holding her stomach from laughter, clearly enjoying the show in front of her. Out of instinct, she turned her head towards Hook, looking if he would put an end to Woodsworth's behavior or if he was simply enjoying the scene like she did. The laugh on her face faltered a little as she saw that Hook wasn't even looking in their direction. His eyes were firmly glued on the other man in front of him, his lips pulled back into a snarl. Belle stared at the ship's captain for some more moments, and let out an involuntary gasp as Hook suddenly turned his head, blue meeting blue.

He was wearing a strange expression on his face as they stared at each other for a long moment across the tavern. Hook was the first to break eye-contact though, his head snapping back to focus on the man at his table. Belle was just about to turn her head as well, intending to watch the one-man-Woodsworth-show a little longer, when she suddenly felt a pair of eyes bore into her skin. Startled by the sudden feeling, she shifted her gaze away from Hook, only to look straight into a pair of light green eyes that were firmly fixed on the beauty.

The stranger who was sitting with the captain had his head turned towards her, his eyes twinkling with a strange shimmer, and his thin lips curled up into a sly smile. Blood rushed to her cheeks as the stranger held her gaze a little longer, the intent green within them capturing her for a mesmerizing moment. A strange feeling began to spread through her entire body, her head slowly starting to fill with a heavy dizziness that was making it more and more difficult for her to form a single thought. Belle inhaled sharply, mustering all of her strength to keep the blurriness out of her mind. With one quick movement of her head, Belle finally was able to succeed, and she demonstratively tore her gaze away from the stranger, forcing to focus her attention back on the whining Woodsworth who was now practically carried out of the tavern by Jonathan and McGonna.

After some more moments, she slowly looked back over her shoulder, but the stranger had brought his attention back to Hook.

"Who is this?" she heard herself whisper, eying the stranger with cocked head.

She felt how Juba moved his body to look at where Belle was staring.

"The one talking to the Captain?" he asked lowly, and Belle nodded in response.

Juba was quiet for some moments, eying the other man closely.

"A lost creature." he finally replied, making Belle look at him in confusion.

"A lost creature?" the beauty echoed, shaking her head a little.

Juba let out a soft, deep laugh.

"Ah, there's still so much for you to learn, Miss Belle." he said with a gentle smile on his face. "But sometimes it's good not to know everything. Just stay away from that one."

Belle pulled a face at that, the disappointment and sadness clearly visible in the depths of her blue eyes.

Juba finally let out a long, exhausted sigh.

"Fine." he said, and Belle's face immediately lit up. She knew that the giant sitting next to her wasn't able to resist her big, sad eyes.

Juba darted a look back at the stranger, before he finally leant in, motioning Belle with one ringed finger to come closer.

"He's the Tailor." the pirate whispered, his dark eyes huge as he stared at the young woman as if the name itself were explanation enough.

Belle just furrowed her brow, signaling Juba that she had no idea who this mysterious Tailor was supposed to be.

Juba flashed a sympathetic smile at her, shaking his head slightly.

"Well if you haven't even heard about the Tailor, it was just about time that you left the walls of your castle, Miss Belle." he chided playfully.

"Next you tell me you have never heard about the Dark One." he quipped.

Belle's heart stopped for a moment, and her eyes widened as reptilian eyes and shimmering golden skin appeared before her mind's eye – an image she had been able to more or less suppress until now. It took her some time to regain her composure, and she averted her eyes desperately trying to veil what the sudden image of her True Love made her feel deep inside her heart.

"Of course I've heard about the Dark One, don't be silly." she therefore replied as nonchalant as possible, but her voice sounded strangely hoarse to her own ears. "But a tailor doesn't ring a bell."

Juba narrowed his eyes slightly at her strange reaction, but didn't say anything. Everyone had heard about the horror-stories that were surrounding the Dark One. Belle was probably just scared about him and that was the reason why she behaved as if someone had splashed a bucket of water into her face.

"Anyways." Juba finally sighed, turning his attention back to the Tailor. "I'm afraid this is something you need to ask the Captain, Miss Belle. I don't know how much I am supposed to tell you."

Belle's heart dropped in disappointment, but she eventually nodded her agreement.

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* * *

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"I'm curious, Captain." the blond man across from him said, his brows lifted in expectation. "What leads you to Stephan's kingdom, I wonder? I was quite surprised to receive your…" he let his eyes wonder through the dark tavern, his fine nose wrinkling in disgust. "… invitation."

"My apologies that our meeting place is not to your liking, mate." Hook sneered as he rolled his eyes. "But I can assure you that a little bit of dirt here and there is nothing to worry about."

"Oh it's not the dirt I'm worried about, Captain!" he huffed as he let his eyes roam through the tavern once again. "But I'm afraid tonight's selection of the fair sex is rather limited in here."

He shifted his gaze back to Hook as thin lips curled up into a mischievous smile.

"Except for your new conquest, of course." he added lowly. "An extraordinarily beautiful plaything you've got there."

The confidence on Hook's face turned to utter confusion, causing a throaty lough escape the Tailor's lips.

"The girl who is so hard trying not to look in our direction." the blond explained with a mock-sigh.

Hook automatically turned his head to where Belle was sitting, meeting her blue, intent gaze.

They stared at each other for some more moments, until Hook was finally able to tore his eyes away from her, concentrating back on the man opposite to him.

"Merely a new crew member." he replied as nonchalant as possible. "Nothing special about her, really."

"Is that so?" the Tailor said, but didn't look back at Hook.

The pirate followed the other man's gaze. The Tailor was staring at Belle with a smirk on his face, and his eyes growing darker with every second. Belle across the room was now looking straight into the Tailor's eyes, and a confused and at the same time completely entranced expression was carved into her beautiful features.

"Ah she's a feisty beauty that one. I can sense that." the Tailor whispered, licking his lips as he held his gaze firmly glued on the young beauty. "Maybe coming here wasn't such a waste of time after all."

"Enough." Hook growled, the tip of his hook digging deeper into the table's wood.

He watched as Belle rapidly tore her gaze away from the Tailor's piercing eyes, and noticed the slight shiver that was running through her body as she came back to her senses.

"She's off-limits, mate." Hook snarled darkly through clenched teeth. "You try that again and I'll make sure that you will never have the ability to enjoy a woman's company again."

If he had thought the Tailor was impressed by the pirate's threats, he was completely misjudging the situation. The other man just looked at him with a sly expression on his face, holding his head slightly cocked.

"Of course." the Tailor finally replied dutifully, but the hint of mischief was still lingering in his green eyes. "But you know… your little bird here does look familiar to me."

Hook let out a contemptuous laugh.

"I do doubt that." was his simple reply.

"Maybe." the other man said slowly, his eyes briefly flickering to where Belle was sitting. "But she makes me think of some of the rumors I've heard on the road."

Hook's eyes widened in surprise, the constant confident smile on his face faltering a little.

"Rumors?" he asked carefully with furrowed brow. "What rumors?"

"Oh nothing special, really." the Tailor echoed Hook's previous choice of words, pure innocence coloring each word. "Just about a princess, a beauty from one of the Western Kingdoms, who was abducted during a pirate-attack after she had just returned home. The most beautiful girl in the land, they say. Skin as white and soft as clouds, long waves of chestnut hair, and eyes as blue as the firmament on a light day in spring."

He paused there, watching the Captain's reaction carefully.

"Her betrothed his beyond fury, they say." the Tailor continued nonchalantly. "He's quite determined to get her back. Rumor has it he's completely obsessed with her since they had first met at his father's castle. Some even say he'd rather see her dead than in the arms of another."

Hook took in a deep breath, biting something inside his mouth. Of course her foolish betrothed would not simply let her go. This spark of obsession had been rather obvious at her father's ball, and Hook was a good enough judge of character to know that this Gaston was one of these who wouldn't stop until they'd reach their goal.

No matter the cost.

"Doesn't like to share, that one." he heard the Tailor's deep chuckle. "But then again, if the lost princess is just half as fair as your latest crew member, I guess I still would understand."

He lifted his brows at Hook, eying him expectantly.

"Wouldn't you agree, Captain?" he asked, the tone of his words as innocent as it could possibly be, but his burning, green eyes giving away what he was really thinking.

"It's not nice spreading rumors, Tailor." Hook finally growled lowly, the blue in his eyes dark from the fury he was feeling. "If you value your guts, I suggest you keep those stories to yourself."

The Tailor just chuckled at the threat and lifted both hands wordlessly in surrender.

"Anyways." Hook continued, trying to shift the topic of their conversation back to his original purpose. "I didn't ask you to come here to listen to the latest gossip, mate."

The Tailor swirled his hand through the air, motioning Hook to continue.

"I've come to strike a deal." Hook finally revealed in a hard tone, eying the Tailor with a challenging expression on his face.

The other man's lips formed into a surprised o-shape.

"A deal?" he echoed, leaning back against the chair's rest with a smirk. "What could the infamous Captain Hook want from an insignificant man like me?"

"Ah, please don't hide your light under a bushel." the pirate declared with a sly smile, waving his good hand as if to dispel the other man's fake-modesty. "Your reputation proceeds you, Tailor."

"Does it now?" the blond asked with raised brows and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And what, pray tell, does this reputation say about me?"

"This and that…" Hook replied with a shrug of his shoulders, his eyes following the movement of his ringed finger as it traced the rim of the cup of rum in front of him.

"First and foremost…" he continued, his eyes locking with the Tailor's, and lowering his voice significantly. "… It is said that you could tailor any clothing that is requested."

The Tailor let out an amused laugh and nodded.

"Well, I guess that's why they call me the Tailor, isn't it?" he replied, offering the pirate a crooked grin. "But I'm afraid I have …" he paused there, wiggling his head from one side to the other. "… retired. I'm afraid you have to search for another tailor."

He then looked the pirate up and down with a dismissive look on his face.

"And rather quick, I'd say." he continued, shaking his head. "A wardrobe change would do you some good, Captain Hook. Leather is rather démodé."

At these words, he attempted to stand up, but Hook held up his good hand to stop him.

"Unfortunately there's no tailor across all the realms that has your special talent." he replied smoothly. "And your troubles will be amply rewarded."

That gained the Tailor's interest as he cocked his head, waiting for Hook to continue.

"I've got some boots in my possession that might be of interest for you. It is said that they allow a person to take strides of seven leagues per step." the pirate said nonchalantly, but didn't miss the expression of excitement that darted over the other man's face.

Hook motioned the Tailor with an elegant movement of his hook to take his seat again.

"Interested?" the pirate asked, offering the Tailor a triumphant grin.

"Fine then." the Tailor agreed slowly and sat down. "In case you truly possess what I desire, then what is it you so desperately require?"

Hook's grin turned into a broad smile.

"Now we're talking." he chuckled and leant closer.

"Wings."

The Tailor knitted his brow and shook his head.

"Wings?" he echoed in disbelief. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"It's quite simple, really." Hook replied with a soft laugh.

"I'm planning to visit a special lady here in King Stephan's realm." He explained and noticed how the Tailor's entire body tensed immediately. "I thought a hostess gift would be appropriate."

The Tailor stared at Hook with wary eyes, before he finally let out a contemptuous, sharp laugh, shaking his head determinedly.

"Don't tell me you're seriously planning to win Malificent's favor with a pair of tailored wings?" the blond snorted, the taunting in his voice making Hook narrow his eyes slightly.

"Malificent will think you're trying to mock her." the blond continued, his voice serious now. "She doesn't take such things well, I'm afraid."

"Of that I'm aware." Hook agreed with a smirk. "But what if those wings could enable her to fly again?"

"Flying is impossible." the Tailor scoffed, rolling his eyes pointedly.

"Not if you possess something from a land where the impossible is possible." Hook whispered with a knowing smirk on his lips.

With one swift movement, he pulled out a flask filled with green liquid in it out of the pocket of his leather coat, holding it out to the Tailor.

"Pixie Dust." Hook explained to answer the Tailor's unvoiced question. He twisted the object in his hand, making the strange, green content sway back and forth. "If you use this the time you sew the wings together, dear Malificent's biggest wish will come true."

The Tailor stared at the flask of magic for some more moments, completely enthralled by the green semifluid, semi-gaseous content.

"Then why do you need me?" he finally asked warily, cocking his head at the pirate in confusion. "Even your ship's cook could possibly do that for you."

"As I said…" Hook sighed, pushing the flask of magic back into his leather coat.

"I'm in need of someone with your... talent." the pirate said, stressing the last word with a knowing shimmer in his eyes.

"You see…" Hook continued as he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't want Malificent to only want these wings… I want her to yearn for them. I want her to beg me to give them to her. I want her to offer _anything_ in return."

Hook raised his brows, eying the other man with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Did I make myself clear?"

A mischievous smile formed on the Tailor's lips as he nodded.

"Crystal." he smirked and held his cup of rum high, signaling Killian that he accepted his offer.

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* * *

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Hook was standing at the counter, flashing his eyes suggestively at the full-bosomed, dark-haired bar-maid.

"Oh come on, lass!" he sighed with mock-seriousness in his silken voice. "Not even one tiny bottle of rum for my adventurous crew and their devilishly handsome looking captain?"

The dark haired woman – whatever her name was, Hook really didn't find himself to care – giggled heavily and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Captain." she said with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. "We're not allowed to give our rum away for free."

A low chuckle escaped Hook's lips and he leant slightly over the counter, bringing his head closer to the woman's face.

He took his time as he trailed her cleavage that was barely able to contain her full glory with his eyes, before his gaze slowly moved towards her face.

"Who said you wouldn't get anything out of it, love?" he purred in a husky voice, the suggestiveness within his voice making the bar-maid blush furiously.

Hook inwardly smiled to himself. His charms had always worked with all kinds of bar-maids so far – none of them had ever been able to resist him.

After having sealed the deal with the Tailor, he had found himself in quite the right mood to celebrate his latest success. He was one step further – one step further of finally reaching his finale goal: The death of the demon that was haunting his dreams for more than 200 years now.

The captain had joined his crew after the Tailor had finally left, declaring – generously as he was – that the next round would be on him. His men had cheered and bawled at that, celebrating their captain loudly for his generosity.

Out of experience, most of his men knew however, that Captain Hook wouldn't have to pay a single coin that evening. He never had to. His charms and good looks had been able to charm any bar-maid so far, and after spending some time talking to the Captain, the love-stricken birds would give him whatever he desired completely for free.

"Oh?" the bar-maids sultry voice snapped him out of his deep thoughts.

She placed both elbows on the counter, her heavy breasts resting between them on the wood.

"And what would that be, I wonder?" she continued, batting her thick lashes at the handsome pirate.

Hook let out a soft laugh and moved one finger to lightly trace the woman's upper arm.

"Well, whatever it is you desire, love." he purred with a smirk on his face, his blue eyes firmly locked with the woman's.

The blush on the bar-maid's cheeks increased even further, and she let out an almost foolish giggle as a response.

"Well…" she said, biting her lower lip suggestively. "In that case I'm sure a bottle of rum for free won't hurt."

Hook flashed a triumphant smile at her and brought her hand up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on top of it.

"A fair deal, indeed, love." he replied lowly, the low tone in his voice vibrating through the woman's body.

She let out another giggle, making Hook sigh inwardly. Some girls really begged for being used.

"Rum's right away." The dark-haired woman chirped, and turned around, making her way to the backroom of the tavern to fetch a new bottle of rum.

"That was quite a show." Hook heard a familiar voice sound from next to him.

Startled, he turned around only to find Belle standing in front of him. The beauty frowned at him, and her arms were crossed in front of her chest. If he didn't know it any better, he would even dare to assume to have detected a slight hint of jealousy in her features.

"Drinking and women." Hook addressed her with a smirk and held his empty mug up high. "No man can match me in these things."

Belle let out a rather unladylike snort and rolled her eyes.

"But what a pleasant surprise that you chose to keep a lonely man company, love." Hook added, leaning a little bit closer to where she was standing.

The woman raised her brows at that, her eyes flickering towards the bar-maid who had just reappeared with a bottle of rum in her hands.

"Well I didn't have the impression that you were lonely, Captain." Belle retorted, eying Hook with a challenging look in her face.

The pirate let out a soft chuckle and turned his attention back to the bar-maid.

"Thank you, love." he addressed her, flashing a charming smile at her as he took the bottle of rum.

The girl was smiling brightly at him, but her smile faltered however, as Hook suddenly turned back around, focusing his entire attention on Belle.

"Care for a drink, Miss Belle?" he suggested with a smirk, showing the bottle of rum to her.

Belle had to suppress the giggle that was forming on her lips as she looked back at the visibly puzzled bar-maid.

"Sure."

Hook threw one last apologetic look at the dark-haired woman behind the counter, before he slid his hooked arm around Belle, gently pulling her closer.

"So who was he?" Belle asked several swigs of rum later.

Her face felt hot from alcohol, and her head dizzy and swayed lightly from one side to the other.

Hook was standing close, his chest nearly touching hers. Belle closed her eyes briefly, inhaling the pleasant scent of leather and salt that was surrounding him and that Belle had started to quite enjoy.

The pirate took another long swig of rum before he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Who was who, love?"

"The man you were talking to earlier." Belle explained, willing her tongue to work properly. "Mr. Juba wouldn't tell me about him. And he told me to ask you instead."

Hook furrowed his brow even further, shaking his head.

"And why would you want to know that, my dear Belle?" he asked warily.

Belle bit her lower lip, and it took all of Hook's willpower not to quickly replace her teeth with his.

"The Tailor." Hook finally answered her question with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That he already told me…" she stated with an exasperated sigh. "But there's more to tell, isn't it?"

Hook couldn't help but offer her a small smile. He quickly darted his eyes across the dim tavern.

Without another word, he carefully slid his arm around Belle's waist, gently leading her towards a small room nearby.

"What…" Belle started to protest weakly, her mind not fully processing what was going on.

"I'll tell you about him." he whispered against her hair as he continued to move her towards the room. "But not here."

There was no window inside the room, and it filled with ultimate darkness as Hook closed the door behind them, leaning heavily against it.

"So…?" Belle's quivering voice sounded through the dimness of the room after some moments of silence, evoking a smirk appear on Hook's face.

After all this time, she was still wary about being alone with him in the same room.

Clever girl, he thought. A delicious lamb should always be careful in the presence of a wolf.

"So I take you're not familiar with the tale of the Valiant Little Tailor, then?" Hook finally asked.

Belle made a negating sound in response, and Hook was sure that her eyes were already filled with that special gleam that appeared whenever he or one of his men told her some of their stories.

He slowly moved closer to where she was standing.

"There was I tailor, once" he began lowly, the deep sound of his voice sounding heavy through the darkness that filled the small room. "A talented magical being that made the most beautiful clothes across all the realms, and it is said that every woman who would lay an eye on his fine handwork, would not only fall in love with the piece of clothing, but with the tailor himself."

The pirate was now standing right in front of her, a wave of delight roaming through his body as he heard how Belle inhaled sharply at his closeness.

"Kings and queens would come from far and wide, begging him on their knees to tailor for them. But the tailor was rather picky when it came to his costumers, and he would only work for the most beautiful women that came to seek him out, for he said that those were the only ones worthy enough to wear his beautiful clothes."

He paused there for a moment, lowering his voice until it was nothing more than a whispered purr.

"One day…" he continued. "…a beautiful princess crossed his path, and the tailor immediately fell in love with her. Her mother, however, a vile and jealous old enchantress, wouldn't give him her daughter's hand in marriage too easily, as he had denied the Queen's own request a few years earlier. As it seems, he hadn't considered the Queen as beautiful enough to wear his clothes. Hatred and jealousy was still filling the old woman's heart, and she therefore ordered that the tailor would have to solve three difficult tasks to prove himself selfless, witty and brave – in short: worthy of her daughter, at least so she said. If the tailor was able to solve them, he would be not only allowed to marry her daughter, but would become rightful king of her kingdom as well. But if he failed, so it is said, he would have to pay his failure with his life. The tailor eagerly agreed to the Queen's conditions, knowing that the magic within him would protect him from ever being killed by human hand. To accomplish his first task, the tailor had to find a ring the Queen had lost in the depths of the Eastern Sea – which turned out not to be a ring, but an earring instead that he found with the help of one of King Triton's daughters. The second task, he was supposed to free a village nearby from seven malicious ogres – and it is said that he killed them in one blow. After he had solved second task, an old woman with wrinkles and warts came to him, begging him to make her a dress for her wedding day. The tailor just laughed at the old woman, telling her that he wouldn't waste his talent on someone as repulsive as her. But the moment he spoke those words, the old woman was surrounded with a cloud of black smoke, and turned into the princess he so desired to marry. He had failed the Queen's final task, for the haughty tailor hadn't been able to prove himself as selfless."

Hook paused there once again, simply listening to Belle's heavy breathing. He lifted his hand to gently trail his fingers along her jaw.

"But having seen the smug, true face of her supposed True Love made her turn away from him for she couldn't spend her life with someone as superficial as he was. Heartbroken as she was, she threw herself of a tower and died. Too late did the Tailor realize that failing the Queen's tasks didn't mean that he would have to pay with his own life, but that it would cost his lover's life instead – for she had been everything he had been living for: His life."

He heard as Belle let out a small gasp, and he was sure that – if were able to see her eyes – they would be filled with sorrow and pity for the two lover's fate."

Since then…" Hook continued softly, letting his finger gently roam over the side of her neck. "…he roams the world, immortal but still dead, and constantly looking for a substitute for his lost life, but never finding it."

There was a long beat of silence between them.

"What is he?" she finally whispered, not daring to raise her voice any further.

Hook's hand was now lingering on her elegant neck, and he felt how Belle's pulse increased as he slowly moved his head closer until his lips were hovering next to her ear.

He briefly closed his eyes, inhaling her scent of vanilla and roses. It had been some time since he had been that close to the beauty on his ship.

And he enjoyed it – every single touch, every single sharp breath he could tickle out of her.

"Satyr." he finally all but breathed against her skin, making her shudder.

Despite the strange dizzy feeling Hook's closeness was making her feel, Belle's eyes widened in surprise as her mind wrapped around the new piece of information.

"Satyr?" she echoed, her voice quivering a bit, trying to forget about Hook's disturbing closeness, but recalling what she had read about those magical beings instead.

"I've read about them in one of my books." she finally whispered. "If he really was a Satyr, shouldn't he be looking like a … well … _goat _or something?"

Hook let out a soft chuckle next to her ear, the sound vibrating through her entire body.

"Ah, you really are a clever girl, aren't you my little beauty?" he said lowly and moved his head a little bit away from her face. "Most women in our land aren't aware that those beings even exist."

Belle blushed a little and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well I read, I guess." she replied in a small voice.

Hook made a low, humming sound before he continued.

"Unfortunately most of those stories don't tell you the whole truth about magical beings." Hook sighed. "Most magical creatures disguise themselves as normal human beings – but eventually even the best disguise is not able to veil the truth that lies beneath it. Satyrs wander this world as normal men, looking for the most beautiful creatures to make them fall in love with them. Women automatically feel attracted to them, often without even knowing why, and if a Satyr wants to have you, there is normally no escape."

Belle felt how Hook's hand slowly traveled from her neck down to her arms, lightly stroking the skin there.

"The Tailor, for example, used his clothes to attract women. And do you have an idea how he did it, my dear Belle?"

Belle felt a heavy cloud of blurriness warp around her mind, Hook's overwhelming scent of leather and salt running through every pore of her body. She couldn't do as much as shake her head in response, her entire body too focused on the touch of Hook's hand on her bare skin.

"He uses his blood." she heard him whisper, the words fanning lightly over her lips. She could smell the rum on his breath, but either due to the rum in her own blood, or the sudden excited feeling that ran through her body due to Hook's closeness, she found it rather intoxicating than repulsing.

"The Tailor pricks his finger with one of his needles…" the pirate explained lowly, lifting her trembling hand to place a soft kiss on the tip of her forefinger.

"…And lets seven drops of his blood fall onto the piece of clothing." Hook whispered, his voice sounding hoarse to his own ears.

His lips gently moved from her finger to the inside of her wrist, his tongue flickering briefly over her fluttering pulse point.

"The magic within his blood binds with the fabric…" Hook murmured against her skin. "… And women will become his weak-willed toys."

Hearing those words, Belle suddenly snatched her hand away from Hook's lips, pressing her body firmer against the wall behind her.

"Don't think us so manipulative, Captain." she retorted hoarsely, that earned just another soft laugh from the pirate.

"But you have already felt it, haven't you?" he whispered through the darkness. "I've seen the way he had looked at you earlier. I know that he wanted you."

"I wouldn't have let him." Belle protested weakly as she felt how Hook gently stroked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I know." Hook said softly. "Neither would have I."

Hook moved his face closer to hers, his lips hovering only inches before hers.

"I want to be the only one who is touting for your favor, Belle." he whispered, the words barely audible.

Belle let out a soft sigh as she felt how Hook suddenly closed the small gap between them, placing his lips gently above hers. She didn't know why she didn't push him away at once, maybe it was the impact of rum inside her body that was clouding her senses, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to tear her lips away from his. For the first time since she had left the Dark Castle, she felt … _something_. Tasting Hook's salty lips move against her own, feeling the closeness of his strong body against her small form made her forget everything.

The Dark Castle, Rumple, Gaston, her father.

Everything that had mattered only moments ago was completely dispelled from her mind, everything that bothered her had simply dissolved in this one, stolen moment.

She felt how Hook pushed her firmly further against the wall, his kiss becoming hungrier with every second.

His hand came up to title her head to one side, and his lips slowly moved away from her mouth, kissing his way down to the side of her throat.

"Hook…" she gasped as she felt how his teeth slightly grazed her skin there.

Something hard was pressing against her belly, and a wave of shock rolled through her body as she realized what that 'something' was.

Gathering what of her senses was left, she forced herself to put her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him away.

"Stop." Belle sighed, trying to force her mind to break through this intense moment of pleasure.

"Belle…" Hook growled in return, his lips nibbling their way back to her mouth.

He captured her lips into another soft kiss, his good hand roaming the length of her soft curves.

"I want you. And I know that you want me, too." he whispered against her lips, his breath coming short as he forced his desire-filled body to stay as gentle as possible. "Don't deny me any longer, love."

But he stayed like this without trying to kiss her again, his lips only swaying close before hers, waiting for her response.

"No" she croaked out, pushing him further away. "I'm sorry, I just … I can't."

She wiggled herself out of his grasp and hurried towards the door.

Hook didn't do anything to stop her, he just stood there, focusing on the spot on the wall where her lips had been only moments ago.

He heard how she hastily opened the door with a creaking sound, and heard her slip out of the room, leaving the pirate behind in the dark room.

Hook stood there for some more moments, motionless.

Suddenly, he let out an angry shout, hitting the wall forcefully with his good hand. But even the sharp pain in his hand was not able to dispel the strange feeling her fresh denial of his affections caused him to feel.

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Hook didn't know how long he had been staying in the dark room before he returned to the tavern's main room. A strange mixture of emotions was whirling through his body.

How could she still deny him? How could she still be so stubborn?

He knew that she wanted him, had _felt _the desire when she had kissed him back.

And yet, she still continued to refuse him.

His eyes roamed the room.

Belle wasn't there.

The rest of his men were still inside the tavern, some of them having a wench sitting on their laps, but all of them drunk as hell.

He sat down next to Smee, roughly taking the bottle out of the older man's hand and taking a long slug of rum.

The other pirate eyed his captain for some more moments before he let out a long sigh.

"She left a couple of minutes ago, Capn." Smee slurred, the words barely comprehensible.

Hook didn't reply, but took another gulp of liquor instead.

He watched his crew enjoy themselves for quite a long time, until he suddenly noticed something.

"Smee" he addressed the older pirate next to him who was barely able to keep his eyes open.

"SMEE!" Hook repeated and pushed his first mate forcefully.

The older pirate forced his eyes to open, looking at his captain with a confused expression on his face.

"Where is Smith?" Hook barked harshly.

Smee furrowed his brows and let his eyes slowly roam over the faces of pirates.

"Oh… He left." Smee finally chuckled lowly, apparently amused that he had forgotten about it. "Not long ago I think, Capn. Shortly after Miss Be…"

The words died on his tongue, and his liquor-glazed eyes cleared for a moment and widened in shock as he stared at the captain.

A wave of panic and fury jolted through Hook's body as he banged up from his seat.

He quickly drew his sword, and without waiting another moment, the pirate stormed out of the dark tavern.

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_**NOTES**_

**Hey guys!**

**So this chapter is pretty long ... :D Sorry for that, but I wanted it to end exactly here ...**

**Okay so I hope you liked my version of Brother Grimm's "The Valiant Little Tailor"**

**Grimm's tale is of course completely different from my version, but I hoped you enjoyed it nontheless!**

**Using the "Satyr" as an element in my story was inspired by the TV show "Grimm" and Malificent's tale of course by the movie with Angelina Jolie, but I will explain her story in more detail in the upcoming chapters.**

**Thanks for your interest for my little story .. :)**

**Have a great weekend,**

**J**


	7. Monsters Like Him

_**Chapter 7**_

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**[Quite a dark and violent chapter, please keep the rating in mind]**

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Belle walked down the lonely, dark street, the thoughts inside her head swirling and spinning in a way that made her dizzy. The tavern's bawling and laughter had long subsided, the only noises that could be heard were her steps on paved ground that was echoing through the lonely streets.

She let out a long sigh, shaking her head determinedly. What exactly had been wrong with her only moments ago? Why had she kissed the pirate back? Belle would have been glad to just say that it was because of the alcohol inside her body that she wasn't used to.

But that was not the truth – not entirely at least.

It had been more than that – a feeling of pleasurable electricity and restless excitement had jolted through her body when Hook had suddenly claimed her lips.

It had felt like something deliciously forbidden, like something shamefully but at the same time exquisitely inappropriate.

And it had felt good – even if it had just lasted for a few stolen moments before she had finally come back to her senses.

Belle was glad that she had stopped him just in time before he … before _they _could have done something incredibly stupid. The princess knew that Hook had been anything but pleased by her rejection. It was no secret to her what he actually wanted from her – what he had wanted since they had first met. And it had been exactly that thought that had made her think clear again.

Belle knew all too well what kind of man Captain Killian Jones was. He was a charmer, a ladies' man through and through. He was that kind of man who could possibly make rooms full of women swoon by just the intensity in his blue eyes.

He was a pirate, a daredevil – and even though – or maybe even _because _– it was obvious to every lady that he was that typical bad guy, the one who had bedded more women that one was able to count with two hands, they would fall in love with him nonetheless.

And they would suffer from a broken heart in the end.

But Belle was not that kind of woman – she had told him that all over again… Had downright insisted on it whenever the pirate would aim a seductive smirk or an ambiguous comment her way.

And yet, for the slightest of moments, for a moment of pure weakness, he had been able to walk right through her stubborn barrier of resistance and had practically mocked her earlier unaffectedness by using his soft but eager lips and the warmth of his touch.

Belle felt how her cheeks warmed with the memory, and she once again shook her head determinedly.

This kiss had meant nothing… neither to her, nor to him.

Best thing was probably to ignore it.

She suddenly heard steps behind her, the sound of heavy boots on wet asphalt filling her ear and she let out a soft sigh.

"Please, I've already told you…" she started in an exasperated voice and turned around, expecting to find Hook standing behind her.

The words died on her tongue and her eyes widened, however, when she realized that it hadn't been the Captain who had followed her.

"Oh please, go on, sweetness." the hulk of a man before her prompted with a sly smile on his scarred face.

Belle's heart pounded painfully against her chest as she stared at the man with wide open eyes.

"Smith" was all she was able to gasp in return.

The shocked expression on her face evoked a low, guttural chuckle from the pirate that made Belle's blood freeze in her body.

"You sound quite disappointed, princess." he taunted lowly, and stepped closer with heavy steps. "Don't tell me you expected someone entirely else."

Belle took in a deep breath and mustered all of her remaining strength.

"Don't come any closer." she demanded, trying to make her voice sound as confident as possible, but failing miserably.

Smith just let out another disturbing chuckle, gifting her with a dark smirk.

"Make me." he all but growled.

With one quick movement, quicker than a man of his size should probably be able to move, he shot forward and grabbed Belle by her hair, pulling her forcefully towards him.

The young woman let out a scared, shrieking sound, but a rough hand immediately closed around her mouth, reducing her yell for help to a muffled and miserable noise.

The pirate held her close to his body, pressing her back against his massive form while one of his strong arms wrapped firmly around her body, making it impossible for her to move a single muscle.

Belle fought with all of the strength her body was able to offer her, but it was futile, the iron grasp around her body pressing her relentlessly against Smith.

"There's no use fighting me, princess." the pirate whispered lowly, his hot breath moisty against her ear. "I still have a score to settle with you. And this time, he's not here to help you."

With these words, Smith pulled her further away from the dark alley, dragging her into an ever darker street, and the force of the pirate's grasp nearly crushing her bones.

Belle started to scream once again, began to move more frantic, trying everything in her power to wiggle herself out of this nightmare she found herself in.

But there was nothing she could do, the pirate too eager, too obsessed by the thought of finally claiming in prize.

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"BELLE!" Hook called out over and over again, his eyes darting frantically over the dark alley.

Nothing.

No sound, no hint… not even the slightest sign of Belle or Smith could be found.

The panic in his blood started to increase with every second wasted, his voice becoming more hectic, more desperate with every moment of his abortive search.

His good clenched painfully around the handle of his sword, his breath coming shallow and quick, and his heart pounding feverishly inside his chest.

Images of what Smith could do to the little beauty if he found her before Hook washed through the pirate's mind and quickened his steps even further.

He couldn't let that happen.

He had _promised _her to protect her.

And a pirate he might be, but he should be damned if he wasn't able to keep that promise.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on a blue ribbon that was lying amongst dirt and mug on the paved, dirty street.

Hook knelt down, picking up the small piece of fabric.

His eyes widened and his heart missed a beat when he recognized the ribbon in his hands.

It belonged to Belle - he had watched her more than once how she had tied back her dark curls with it.

He quickly lifted his head, his dark eyes scanning the darkness around him carefully.

And then he heard it – a distant scream, an enraged shout.

Fury was washing through his veins at the sound of it, and he spurted down the dark alley to his right-hand side.

He only hoped he wouldn't come too late.

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Smith had pressed her against a cold, stony wall, his rough hand firmly closed around her throat, keeping her in place and making her struggle for breath.

"Why so restive, princess?" Smith sneered, his rum-soaked breath hot against the cold skin of her face.

Belle let out a miserable whimper when she felt how his other hand slowly trailed down her body, his fingers roughly grabbing her right breast.

"I wonder if you were that stubborn when the Captain claimed you."

Belle's faint protest was reduced to a croaked gasp as the rough fingers around her throat tightened.

She nearly went sick as Smith roughly titled her head to once side to bury his face into her dark mane, taking in a clattering, deep breath.

"I can still smell him on you, sweetness." he breathed heavily, the darkness within his voice making Belle's heart both pound painfully and making it freeze in fear at the same moment.

"Oh don't deny it my sweet." he almost purred when he moved his head away from her hair so that it was hovering only inches before her.

The foul breath that escaped his torn lips made her stomach turn and shudder in disgust.

"It's not fair, you know?" he said unsmiling, his left hand continuing to massage her breast through the thin fabric of her dress. "He denied me to have you, and took you instead. Even though you belong to _me_! You are _my price_."

With one swift movement, he suddenly tore the fabric of her dress, leaving her upper body bare to his lustful stare.

Hot tears were streaming down her pale cheek as she saw the expression on Smith's face darken, his eyes full of dark promises what he was going to do to her.

"Don't" she was able to croak out, the harsh grasp around her throat making it impossible for her to voice any other word.

But her strained pleading was just met with another dark chuckle, and she felt how Smith's body pressed more firmly against her. His lips met the delicate skin of her exposed shoulder, his rotten teeth leaving marks of possession as his mouth trailed down towards her chest.

"Oh what a fine thing you are." he praised as his head moved back up to meet her pleading, fearful eyes. "Much better than I could have ever imagined."

Belle felt how the hand that had been busy with her breasts moved down and caught the fabric of her skirt, pulling it forcefully upwards.

"What kind of witch are you I wonder." he purred as his hand slowly moved up her thigh. "Every time I fuck another wench, I see your face before me, preventing me from achieving real pleasure."

Belle stared at him with wide open eyes, unable to voice a single word, but her eyes pleading with desperation, trying to make him stop, trying to escape this horrible moment.

But his rough lips just curled up into a sinister smile, his moving hand squeezing her backside painfully.

"But tonight, princess…" he whispered, moving his head closer. "You will give me the pleasure I desire."

He stared at her for a long moment, admiring the fear in her eyes.

"And there's nothing you can do about it."

With these words, he harshly crashed his lips onto hers, shoving his slimy tongue inside her mouth. Belle screamed into his mouth, but was immediately punished as Smith tightened the grasp around her neck even further.

The world around Belle went dizzy, blue and white spots appearing before her eyes as the air left her lungs.

There was only one thing she could do.

Gathering all of her remaining strength, she captured his bottom lip with her teeth and bit down as forcefully as she could.

Smith howled in pain and stumbled backwards, eying her with a furious expression on his face.

Belle gasped and panted noisily as the rough hand finally left her throat and she breathed stertorously as she frantically refilled her lungs with oxygen.

She watched as Smith lifted his hand to his bleeding lip. His rough fingers quickly washed over his mouth, dark red blood resting on top of his fingertips.

He stared at the blood on his hands before his dark eyes lifted to look at her, the gaze heated and darker than ever before.

"Oh you're going to regret this, princess." he growled his baleful, sinister promise.

Without wasting another thought, Belle started running as fast as she could. She stumbled over the slippery pavement through the darkness, her torn dress fluttering around her shivering form.

But she didn't care. All that mattered was making as much space between her and Smith as possible. She heard his steps behind her, knew that she barely had the chance to escape from the furious pirate.

But she had to try.

What other choice did she have?

She dared to glance over her shoulder, trying to see how close Smith was behind her, when she suddenly crashed against a warm wall.

Belle let out another scream when she felt how strong arms suddenly wrapped around her small form.

The panic was rising in her heart and body as she fought with all of her strength against the warm wall, trying to escape this new trap.

"BE … BELLE!" he heard a dark voice call for her as she screamed and squirmed against the strong hold. "Belle, look at me! I'm not going to hurt you! Please look at me!"

The pleading within the voice made her finally look up, her haunted gaze meeting a pair of light blue eyes.

"Hook" she breathed in relief as her mind realized who was holding her.

The Captain was staring at her with wide open eyes, the pale moonlight illuminating his concern-filled face.

"Hook" she repeated with a quivering voice, unable to say anything else through her bitter sobs, and hot tears of relieved desperation now running freely down her face.

Hook's eyes briefly flickered towards her exposed skin, an expression of hot fury manifesting on his face. But instead of replying, he just pulled her into a tight embrace, pressing her shivering form against his warmth.

Belle threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him like a drowning woman, and burying her face into the crook of his neck, sobbing bitterly.

"Shh… it's alright." she heard him murmur in a strained voice, his good hand roaming in a soothing manner through her ruffled hair. "I'm here now. It's over."

Belle didn't hear him through her sobbing, but the confidence and the lowness of his voice was caressing her voice like velvet.

She felt save.

That was until another voice reached her ear.

"Come on little bird. I have no time for playing hide and seek."

She felt how Hook's muscled beneath her fingers tensed.

His head shot up, his eyes narrowing when he fixed the corner where the voice had come from.

With one swift movement, he whirled her around, shoving her trembling form behind his body until he was standing like a protective human shield before her.

It didn't take long until Smith finally rounded the corner, a devilish smirk plastered on his bloodied face.

His eyes widened and the smirk vanished, however, when his eyes fell on the scene before him.

Hook was standing right in front of him with his sword held high, the quivering beauty safely behind the Captain.

"Captain" the other pirate gasped, half in surprise, half in fear.

"I guess you weren't expecting me, Mr. Smith?" Hook growled deeply in response, his normally blue eyes dark from fury and disgust as he pointed his sword directly at the other man.

Smith opened his mouth, but closed it again before any sound could escape his blood-stained lips.

"Think very careful before you speak." The Captain hissed through clenched teeth, his chest heaving rapidly. "The sound of your voice is likely to make me regret what mercy I've shown that far!"

Smith narrowed his eyes at that, his own hand twitching around the handle of his sword.

"She belongs to _me_." he sneered, his eyes glaring at the shivering beauty behind Hook. "I'm only taking what is rightfully mine."

The skin beneath Hook's right eye twitched as he stared at the other pirate with a hard expression on his face.

"Wrong answer." he told him, his voice sounding calm despite the fury within his enraged eyes.

Belle let out a surprised scream as Hook suddenly whirled forward, the sharp point of his sword aiming directly at Smith's heart.

The other pirate escaped the deadly blade just by a hair's breadth as he quickly took a large step to the left side so that Hook's sword sliced only air instead of human flesh.

He quickly drew is sword as well, pointing it at his Captain.

Despite himself, Hook let out a low chuckle and shook his head in almost amusement.

"You think this is such a good idea, Mr. Smith?" he taunted with raised brows, nodding his head quickly towards Smith's raised blade.

Smith let out a guttural growl, the hulk of a pirate tightening the grip around the handle of his sword, pointing it more determinedly at Hook.

Belle stood in safe distance, watching the scene taking place before her with bated breath, pressing the torn fabric of her dress tightly against her chest.

Smith made his first move, the sharpness of his sword slicing noisily through the air with all of the force he was able to muster, clearly not aiming to hurt the captain, but to kill him.

But Hook was faster, and by far better skilled than his crew member. He gracefully whirled around, his long leather coat flowing through the air as Smith stumbled forward, his sword hitting the stony ground with a stinging sound.

Smith let out an angry sound, his scarred face now of a furious red color as he turned his head to glare at Hook.

The Captain had his sword still held high, following every move of the other man with watchful eyes.

"What do you want with her, anyways?" Smith barked, his voice strong and filled with venomous spite. "Is she really that a good fuck that you can't even part from her for one bloody night?"

Hook's eyes darted to Belle, the fear in her facial expression capturing him for one fateful moment. Smith suddenly stormed forward, taking the pirate by surprise, and smashing his entire body against the Captain, pushing him forcefully against the stony wall. Hook's sword fell noisily to the ground, and a frightened scream sounded from where Belle was standing, the beauty clapping her trembling hands above her shocked-formed mouth.

Hook let out a pained gasp as he felt how Smith pressed the sharp side of his sword against his throat, the dangerous weapon draining a slight strain of blood from the captain's skin.

A triumphant gleam appeared in the darkness of Smith's eyes as he stared down at the trapped Captain.

"Oh I bet she is." the pirate laughed. "You've been never that inattentive before. I guess the beauty has successfully fucked out your brains then."

Hook let out a furious growl, his body downright trembling from suppressed fury. Slowly, his good hand went to the inside of belt, his fingers clenching around the dagger that was hidden there.

But he wouldn't make his move.

Not just yet.

Smith misjudged Hook's lack of response and let out a snickering sound that made Belle's hackles rise.

"Well I will find out soon enough." the pirate said lowly, the pressure of his sword against Hook's throat increasing and making Hook hiss in pain.

"Maybe I won't kill you just yet, Captain." he whispered darkly, the triumphant smirk on his face turning sinister and mischievous. "Maybe I just wound you badly enough that you live a little longer. And I will make you watch as I claim the wench against exactly this wall, taking her hard and fast until she begs me to stop and her body quivers from exhaustion. And the last image of your long, miserable life will be me who is buried deeply inside her, and the last sound in yours ears her tear-filled moans when she comes around my thick cock tearing her fragile body apart."

Hook's nostrils flared from hatred, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

With all of his remaining force, Hook suddenly stabbed the sharp dagger forcefully into the right side of Smith's body, the weapon slicing through clothes, skin and bones, ending by piercing his enemy's lung.

Smith let out a scream of pain, and Hook pushed him away so that the tall pirate stumbled to the floor, a thick puddle of blood erupting from the deathly wound. Quickly, the captain stepped onto Smith's sword-leading hand, forcing him to let go off his sword. The other pirate's pained scream cut through the cold night air, but Hook would show no mercy.

Not this time.

He forcefully kicked the lying man's body with his heavy boot, the pirate on the ground wheezing in misery and spitting blood. Hook heard Belle's distant cries, but in this very moment, he didn't care. He was staring at the blood-stained man to his feet with pure hatred and disgust filling his eyes, and another forceful kick of his boot landed on Smith's face.

He looked down at the squirming body, and he knew that Smith wouldn't last much longer.

"I should kill you right away." Hook said lowly, his voice sounding heavy with revulsion. "But then again, you won't last any longer than a few minutes."

He slowly bent down, looking straight into the pirate's dirty face.

"And I want you to die slowly… _painfully_." he said lowly. "So I'm afraid killing you right away is mercy I am not quite willing to show you, Mr. Smith."

He offered the dying man on the floor another hateful glare, before he slowly stepped away from him, turning his attention to the quivering woman only few feet away from him.

Belle's face was pale as it could be, her bottom lip quivering as she stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes. Hook softened his expression a little, giving the scared beauty a reassuring, small smile.

He had already opened his mouth, when Smith's stertorous chuckle sounded through the chilly night.

"You haven't learnt a thing, have you Captain?" Smith's voice taunted, the smugness in his voice making Hook's blood boil as he turned around to look at the dying pirate.

Smith was looking up at him through bloodshot dark eyes, waves of blood spurting through his cracked lips.

"You've always felt the urge to save a fucking damsel in distress." the pirate said, letting out a clattering laugh.

Hook narrowed his eyes in fury and stepped with on boot forcefully onto the pirate, making Smith's clattering laughter immediately turn into another pained scream.

"And rest assured, each of these women is much more worth than such a miserable scum like yourself." Hook growled in return, flashing his eyes darkly at the pirate.

But despite what Hook had been expecting, Smith just let out a contemptuous snort, and moved his head a little, obviously trying to shake his head.

"What you don't see, Captain…" Smith panted. "… is that she will mark your downfall."

He took a deep, cluttering breath.

"Just like Mi…"

But the pirate on the stony, cold ground didn't finish his sentence.

Hook watched as the life departed from Smith's eyes, a blank emptiness replacing the earlier darkness within them.

The Captain stared at the lifeless body for some more moments, his breath sounding heavy as his mind tried to wrap around the last, venomous words that had parted Smith's moribund lips.

"Hook?" Belle's quivering voice startled him out of his stupor.

He looked up to see the small woman standing where he had left her.

Her entire body was trembling, and she had her arms firmly wrapped around herself, trying to keep the torn pieces of her dress in place.

Hook let out a long sigh, approaching the beauty with slow, heavy steps.

He removed his thick leather coat and wrapped it gently around Belle. She stared at him with still wide open eyes, her face covered by dirt and blood and salty tears.

Without another word, he pulled her closer to him, his adrenaline-filled heart slowly returning to a normal pace as he closed his eyes and inhaled the pleasant scent of vanilla and roses.

"Come on." he whispered after a while against her hair, his good hand gently brushing through her dark curls. "Let's go back to the ship."

Belle let out a soft sniffle, but nodded eventually.

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Hook took a long slug of his bottle of rum, staring at Belle's sleeping form. He had led her to his quarters, the beauty being in such a state of shock that she had barely been able to walk on her own.

He had washed the blood and dirt from her face and bruised throat, the image of her empty stare still apparent in his every thought. He had slid off his heavy coat from her slender shoulders, careful not to look at the exposed skin that lay underneath. He had offered her a clean shirt to wear, and a silent nod was all he had received as a response. He had helped her put on one long silken shirt that ended mid-thigh, and had helped her lie down onto her bed, covering her almost paralyzed body with a thick blanket.

The pirate had stayed with her for a while longer, his hand gently caressing over her pale face. Belle's eyes had been fixed on the wooden ceiling above her, her empty stare lacking any kind of emotion.

But when he had slowly stood up, attempting to leave her cabin and leave her to sleep, she had suddenly raised her voice.

"Stay" she had whispered, her eyes shifting to stare at him with a strange expression on her face.

Hook had hesitated, uncertain if he really should stay in a situation like this.

But the emptiness in her face had turned pleading, a heartbreakingly "Please" escaping her lips that he hadn't been able to deny.

He had nodded then and had laid down next to her, careful not to get too close.

But Belle had surprised him as she had suddenly moved closer, snuggling against his warm body with a shuttering sigh. Hook remembered the small smile on his face as he had realized that – even after everything that had happened that night – she felt safe with him. He therefore wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer, stroking her hair lightly with his good hand. He had listened how her breathing had slowly started to calm until she slowly drifted off to sleep.

He had stayed like that for some more moments, just listening to her breathing and feeling the warmth of her body pressed against her skin.

After a while, however, he carefully wiggled his body away from her and got out of her bed, that evoked a slightly protesting sound from the beauty, but she wouldn't wake up.

He had fetched the bottle of rum from his coat then, taking long, thoughtful gulps, and watching Belle sleeping.

A strange feeling fisted around his heart as his mind wandered back to the evening's happenings.

If he had arrived only seconds later, damage would have been inflicted that not even Smith's miserable death would have been able to undo.

Hook took another gulp of rum.

He felt guilty.

He had known right from the start that a beauty onboard of a pirate ship would be constantly in danger.

That Smith had wanted her the moment he had first laid eyes on her.

Hook had promised her to protect her.

And he had failed her.

But there was something else, deep inside his heart that … _bothered _… him.

It was not only the thought of _what_ Smith had attempted to do that fueled the fury inside his heart and mind, but the fact that this piece of dirt had tried to do it to _her_!

Hook clearly remembered the feeling of not only pure fury that had filled his veins when he had noticed that Belle _and _Smith had no longer been inside the tavern, but the consuming feeling of fear that had jolted through his body.

Fear that Smith could harm her – in whatever way.

And for the first time since Belle had arrived onboard of his ship, he wondered if she had maybe become more than a simple conquest for him – if she was maybe something more than another woman to bed.

A soft knock on the door made him tear his eyes away from the sleeping beauty.

"Captain?" he heard Smee whisper through the wooden door.

Hook let out a long sigh and strode towards the cabin's entrance, opening the door slightly with a creaking sound.

He raised his brows expectantly at his first mate who was standing in front of the cabin, his eyes wide and full of unanswered questions.

"Sobered up?" Hook finally addressed Smee coldly.

"I'm so sorry, Captain." Smee began to ramble. "I've searched for Miss Belle everywhere, but I wasn't able to …"

Hook stopped him with a movement of his Hook, shaking his head exhaustedly.

"She's safe." Hook told him lowly, opening the door a little further so that Smee could get a slight glimpse at the woman lying in his bed.

A wave of relief washed over the first mate's face, and he let out a long sigh.

"Good" Smee exclaimed with an eager nod. "That's good, Captain. Isn't it?"

Hook wore a grim expression on his face, but eventually gave the other man a short nod.

There was a long beat of tensed silence between them, Smee searching Hook's hard face for some moments.

"And Smith, is he…" Smee started, but Hook interrupted him immediately.

"Dead." he growled through clenched teeth, making Smee's eyes widened in shocked realization as he met the Captain's dark eyes.

"What…"

"Monsters like him get what they deserve in the end, Mr. Smee." Hook cut him off, a dark promise coloring each of his words. "Make sure the crew hears about his fate."

Smee swallowed hard, but nodded eventually.

Before his first mate could voice another word, Hook closed the door.


End file.
